Certain. Starved. Wounded. Tortured. These are the situations that some hostages being held in Gaza nonetheless face, in line with info their households mentioned they’d acquired from Israeli navy and safety officers after Hamas launched three captives on Saturday as a part of a cease-fire settlement.
The emaciated look of three hostages launched in a ceremony in Gaza staged by Hamas final weekend — Eli Sharabi, 52; Or Levy, 34; and Ohad Ben-Ami, 56 — and the small print of their captivity have kin of the remaining captives sounding the alarm concerning the pressing want for the continuation of the phased cease-fire deal. The urgency comes because the militant group mentioned on Monday it might indefinitely postpone the following hostage releases, set for Saturday, citing Israeli cease-fire violations.
Earlier than they had been handed over to Pink Cross officers in change for 183 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday, the frail, painfully skinny hostages had been paraded onstage earlier than a crowd within the metropolis of Deir al-Balah, Gaza, every holding a Hamas-issued “launch certificates,” and made to recite phrases written for them — together with because of the militants who had held them for 16 months.
A health care provider in command of overseeing the remedy of two of the freed Israeli hostages later mentioned they had been in poor situation. The third was in a “extreme dietary state,” in line with an official on the hospital the place he was being handled.
Hamas has mentioned it treats its captives benevolently.
Beneath the primary phases of the cease-fire deal, the armed Palestinian group agreed to free 25 dwelling hostages and the our bodies of eight who had been killed, in change for about 1,500 Palestinian prisoners. To date, about half of these exchanges have been carried out.
Hamas on Saturday denounced “the brutal remedy of our prisoners” by Israeli officers. “This contains ongoing assaults, torture, and disrespect for age or the extreme well being situations suffered by many prisoners,” it mentioned in a press release, highlighting what it mentioned was the distinction in remedy between the hostages and the prisoners.
Idit Ohel, whose son Alon Ohel turned 24 on Monday and was spending his second birthday in captivity in Gaza, informed reporters at a information briefing that she had realized from navy sources who had spoken with essentially the most not too long ago launched hostages that her son was receiving little or no meals and no medical take care of a number of accidents, together with a watch damage that has left him partially blinded.
Mr. Ohel, who was captured on the Nova Music Pageant in the course of the Hamas-led assault on Oct. 7, 2023, has been held certain for a lot of the time and was tortured, she mentioned she had realized from Israeli navy officers. “It was not simple to listen to,” Ms. Ohel mentioned. “I have to say that I even fainted.”
“I don’t assume there’s a mom on this world that may even have the ability to sleep,” figuring out their youngster was enduring such struggling, she added.
Equally, Sigi Cohen, the mom of one other hostage, Eliya Cohen, who was 26 when captured, mentioned by cellphone on Monday that she had realized from Israeli safety forces that her son — who was shot within the leg in the course of the 2023 assault on Israel — has additionally not acquired remedy for his accidents.
Her son reportedly sees nearly no sunshine and has been certain all through most of his almost 500 days in captivity, she added.
The New York Occasions couldn’t independently affirm the data. A spokesman for the Israeli navy, reached by cellphone, declined to touch upon Monday, citing the sensitivity of the subject.
The not too long ago freed hostages’ experiences about what they and others have endured align with the accounts of among the different captives freed because the first part of the cease-fire settlement went into impact final month.
And Dr. Hagai Levine, who leads the medical staff for the Hostage Household Discussion board, an umbrella group, informed reporters on Monday that the hostages had been “starved” and endured “intentional torture,” and that many had returned residence with infections that might change into a menace, in addition to emotional injury.
“The findings are clear and deeply alarming,” he mentioned. “They’re topic to deliberate hunger and extreme water deprivation” and “are present process excessive bodily and emotional abuse.”
“There’s a clear and current hazard to all the hostages’ lives,” Dr. Levine added. He mentioned that any delay within the launch of hostages would “in all probability value lives.”
The kin of a few of these not too long ago launched have additionally described particulars of the hostages’ experiences — and the dire state they’re in now.
“Yesterday, my brother Or returned to us after 491 days of hell,” Michael Levy mentioned in a press release on Sunday. His brother had been held in Hamas tunnels and returned to Israel a shadow of the person he as soon as was, his brother mentioned.
“I hugged him, however he wasn’t the identical Or who left residence on October seventh,” Mr. Levy mentioned, noting that his brother had returned in poor bodily situation and spent 16 months “hungry, barefoot and in fixed concern” that every single day could possibly be his final.
However the “hardest blow” got here on Saturday, he mentioned, when his brother realized that his spouse, Einav Levy, had not survived the assault on the Nova music competition.
The newest particulars concerning the situations below which among the hostages had been held got here as the delicate truce seemed to be fraying.
Ofer Calderon, who was launched earlier this month, mentioned in a press release on Monday, “I used to be held in tunnels with out seeing daylight, had no entry to media, skilled extreme starvation situations, went complete months with out showering or receiving correct care.”
He known as for a continuation of the cease-fire and famous that after the primary short-term deal of the warfare was struck between Israel and Hamas, in November 2023, the situations throughout his and different hostages’ captivity had “severely deteriorated and have become brutal.”
“We should not cease the present deal and should proceed working to free all of the hostages,” Mr. Calderon mentioned. “Hamas is a merciless enemy who won’t hesitate to hurt the hostages left behind.”
