The Israel-Hamas War: Hostage Testimonies

Learning From the Hostages
Hidden in an UNRWA Facility
Unfathomable Trauma
Abuse by Gaza Civilians

Learning From the Hostages

As the released hostages began to recover from their ordeal, more information became public about their condition and treatment while they were captive. One revelation was that Hamas gave hostages tranquilizers to make them appear to be in good spirits when their release was filmed. Some of the hostages lost as much as 40% of their body weight from malnutrition. A severe loss of muscle mass accompanied this weight loss. Those with health problems did not receive the medication they needed. Some experienced broken teeth.

Danielle Aloni (44), her daughter Emilia (6), her sister, her brother-in-law, and their twin three-year-old daughters were forced out of their home on Kibbutz Nir Oz when it was set on fire. She left a voice message for her family: “They are burning our home, terrorists have come in, they tried to shoot us. We are being burned in the home. If we go out they will shoot us.”

When they emerged from their home, they were put in a trailer with others taken captive. The families became separated, and Aloni was left with her daughter and niece, Emma. She said that when they crossed into Gaza, crowds of civilians began beating the Israelis. Once in Gaza, a terrorist pulled Emma away, and Danielle and Emilia were taken into the tunnels for three days before being taken to an apartment for 13 days. They returned to the tunnels after Israel began bombing the area. She saw other hostages who were injured but received no medical treatment. At one point, she and two other hostages were forced to make a propaganda video. When they were finally released after 49 days, she said crowds attacked the Red Cross vehicle they rode in. The rest of her family remained captive.

 Itay Regev, a 19-year-old freed in the hostage exchange, recalled that when he arrived in Gaza, he was paraded in front of laughing and cheering Gazans while “the terrorists started shouting and screaming and celebrating. It was like a big party.” He was taken to a hospital where a doctor removed a bullet from his leg without anesthesia while the kidnappers threatened to kill him if he made noise. Afterward, he was moved, disguised as a woman in a burqa and as a corpse. Kept in a locked room with no sunlight, he was told that Israeli airstrikes were killing hostages.

Regev’s sister Maya (21) was also shot while fleeing from the Nova festival. She underwent surgery to reattach her leg, but it was done incorrectly and left her with it angled in the wrong way, making it difficult for her to walk.

Many hostages were reluctant to speak about their ordeals for fear of endangering the Israelis still in captivity. One Thai did speak about how he and other Thais were beaten. He said that the Israelis they were with were singled out for ruthless treatment, including being whipped with electrical wires. They were also interrogated to learn about their military service and that of the other hostages. 

On December 8, Israel confirmed that two civilians believed to have been taken hostage were identified among those killed on October 7. The bodies of two more hostages were recovered on December 12.

Following a phone call between Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister demanded the release of hostages in telephone calls on December 10-11 with Hamas and other Palestinian factions. It was unclear whether Russia was seeking the release of all the hostages or any Russian nationals.

After Hamas violated the ceasefire, concern grew for the welfare of the hostages. Those who were released began to tell harrowing tales of abuse and lack of food and medical attention. Hamas did not allow Red Cross visits, and as the IDF campaign continued, several hostages were found to have died or been killed in captivity.

On December 13, President Biden held an extraordinary meeting at the White House for nearly two hours with the 13 family members of eight Americans held hostage. Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of 35-year-old Israeli-American Sagui Dekel-Chen, said afterward, “I think we all came away feeling that as families of hostages, of American-Israeli hostages, which are eight out of a total of 138 hostages, felt that — we felt before, and we were only reinforced in seeing and believing that we could have no better friend, in Washington or in the White House, than President Biden himself and his administration.”

In the ongoing psychological war, Hamas continued to disseminate videos of hostages. In mid-January, a video showed three hostages, two of whom were believed to be dead.

In April 2024, another hostage spoke about her captivity. Noga Weiss, 18, was taken from her home in Kibbutz Be’eri and released after 50 days. Her father was killed on October 7, and his body was taken to Gaza. Noga said that when she arrived in Gaza, thousands of Palestinians, including children, cheered and tried to hit her inside the vehicle she was traveling in. She was shuffled to different homes and was forced to wear a hijab so she could not be identified as a hostage.

She revealed that one of her Hamas tormentors said she would stay in Gaza forever. He bought her a ring and said they would get married and have children together. 

“He told me, ‘Everyone will be released, but you will stay here with me and have my children.’”

Asked how she responded, Noga said, “I pretended to laugh so he wouldn’t shoot me in the head.”

Maya Regev, 21, was shot in the leg as she tried to escape from the Nova Festival. “When changing bandages, when they wanted to see the wounds, they would purposely cause pain,” she said. “[The doctor] would take chlorine, alcohol, and sometimes even something like apple cider vinegar, and would pour it in [the wound] and apply pressure.”

She wanted to resist when the doctor picked at her flesh with a knife but was afraid because he had a gun. “When they were changing my bandages, they would give me ketamine and pethidine intravenously so that I wouldn’t scream. But they’re not really pain relievers; they’re muscle relaxants. So I couldn’t respond, but I could feel everything,” she explained in an interview with Channel 12 News. 

When she was released from Gaza, she had serious infections, and it took several surgeries and nine months of rehabilitation before she could walk again with crutches.

Agam Goldstein-Almog lived in Kibbutz Kfar Aza when terrorists entered his home and killed his father and sister. He was forced into a car with his mother and two younger brothers and taken to Gaza. Her guards forced her to recite Muslim prayers and to wear a hijab. They said they would find her a husband in Gaza. Goldstein-Almog said she met six female hostages in a tunnel who told her about men with guns coming into the shower and touching them.

Her family was moved to a house in a school filled with Palestinian women and children to join them as human shields while Hamas launched rockets from inside the school compound. The Gazans cheered. Just before being released in the November hostage exchange, Goldstein-Almog said her guard told her, “In the next war, Hamas would return to kill us. There would be no hostage-taking, no more dealmaking.”

When she rode out of Gaza in a Red Cross vehicle, she said, “a mob formed, just as when we arrived. But weeks of Israel’s intense bombing had changed the mood. Instead of laughing and taking photos, the Gazans banged on the windows and screamed at us: Die, die, die.”

Forty-year-old Amit Soussana told The Times her captors took her to the roof of a private home and tied her up with chains. One of the terrorists later sexually assaulted her. He and other terrorists also tried to extract information from her by mocking and hitting her. “Then other terrorists moved two armchairs, brought two sticks, and simply hung me upside down between the armchairs, like a chicken. I had masking tape over my face, my head facing the wall, and the handcuffs were tied above my knuckles to cause more pain. They hit me for about 45 minutes. One with a wooden stick and the others with their hands and guns.”

When another hostage asked her why she didn’t cry, Soussana said, “I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction.”

Soussana and two other hostages were taken from a house to a tunnel. They told the terrorists guarding them, “We can’t stay here! We can’t breathe!” 

She said, “We heard the bombings above us and were afraid that if the terrorists were killed up there, no one would know where we were, afraid that the shaft would get sealed.”

In later testimony, Soussana stated that former hostage Liri Albag saved her life in Hamas captivity. Captors bound Soussana, beat her, and threatened her with a weapon, demanding she confess to being an IDF officer. When she refused, they brought in other hostages, including Albag, to pressure her. A guard pointed a gun at Soussana’s head, giving her 40 minutes to confess. Albag intervened, convincing them she was not in the military. Soussana was initially held alone for three weeks, chained “like an animal” in an apartment with two guards. She also suffered sexual assault by one of her captors.

Soussana survived 55 days of abuse before she was released.

Omer Shem Tov, an Israeli civilian kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova festival on October 7, 2023, endured over 400 days in captivity, during which he was starved, beaten, and held in isolation. He recounted being threatened at gunpoint to help collapse a building on IDF troops, but bravely refused. Despite considering an escape attempt, he feared the weapon he intended to grab from his captors would jam and backed down. To survive, Shem Tov maintained a rapport with captors by cooking, cleaning, and even performing for them. His ordeal included prolonged darkness, malnutrition, and mental anguish.

During his 584 days in Hamas captivity, Edan Alexander endured severe and inhumane conditions. He was subjected to intense physical and psychological abuse, including being shackled by both hands and feet for extended periods, leading to significant physical weakening. He suffered from prolonged food deprivation, only receiving more substantial meals shortly before his release. Throughout his captivity, Alexander was confined in underground tunnels, isolated from daylight and human contact. These conditions have had a profound impact on his physical and emotional well-being, necessitating ongoing medical treatment and psychological support following his release. His conditions in captivity reportedly improved after Donald Trump’s inauguration as U.S. president in January. According to his aunt, Alexander was given more food to help him gain weight once talk of him increased. He was also moved to a “VIP tunnel” alongside senior Hamas officials, which provided both greater protection due to his American citizenship and served Hamas’s interest in using him as a human shield. In a phone call with Trump, Alexander confirmed that his conditions had “improved dramatically” since Trump took office.

Hidden in an UNRWA Facility

In their initial comments about their captivity, Doron Steinbrecher, Emily Damari, and Romi Gonen said they were initially held together but later separated. They were moved dozens of times but were mostly held underground. They also stayed at UN shelters. Damari was held in UNRWA facilities in Gaza. During her captivity, she was denied medical treatment despite suffering from two gunshot wounds, including the loss of two fingers on her left hand and an unhealed leg wound. Damari said the only medical aid she received was an expired bottle of medication. 

Upon their return, Danielle Gilboa, Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, and Naama Levy shared harrowing details of their captivity. They were forbidden from holding hands or crying, and one hostage, Naama, who had been held in isolation for an extended period, asked, “Are we alive?” when reunited with her peers. The women described being moved across Gaza and confined in dark tunnels or civilian homes under harsh conditions, including limited food, poor sanitation, and inadequate medical care. Some hostages reported being held in Hamas tunnels for up to eight months, deprived of daylight and with little to no human contact. Hostages kept together were in better condition than those held in isolation. Their treatment improved shortly before their release, with hostages allowed to shower, change clothes, and receive better food. However, some had not received proper treatment for injuries sustained during their initial capture in the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, and some exhibited signs of mild starvation. Despite staged humiliation during their release, the hostages acted confidently, defying Hamas’s propaganda efforts. They supported each other, exercised together, and drew strength from media coverage of their families and protests advocating for their freedom.

Arbel Yehud was reportedly kept alone through the entire captivity and did not meet any Israelis until her release. Gadi Moses shared the inhumane conditions he endured, including poor hygiene and food shortages. He developed a strict routine of walking, solving math puzzles, and having imaginary conversations to cope. He also negotiated with his captors for books and TV access, learning about protests demanding his release and the murder of his wife. The five Thai citizens reported upon their release that they had been held in tunnels, where they could hear bombings and often struggled to breathe. They did not always have enough food. Since their release, they have been in contact with their families in Thailand, who were flown to Israel to meet them.

Yarden Bibas endured severe psychological abuse, taunted by his captors regarding his wife, Shiri, and his children, Ariel and Kfir’s alleged death as proclaimed by Hamas. Despite this, he is said to be “clinging to hope.” Keith Siegel was locked in a room, receiving little food, and was sometimes beaten and spat on. Although he was a vegetarian, he sometimes ate meat to survive. While in captivity, he was relieved to hear his son’s voice on the radio, as he was unsure if his son had survived the Hamas attack. Ofer Kalderon was subjected to physical and mental abuse, including beatings and being put in cages.

Other hostages also endured similar mistreatment. They were frequently told they were “going home tomorrow,” which was untrue. Captors would give them food and then take it away, laughing at them. Some were handcuffed for extended periods and subjected to violence. They were sometimes placed in cages for “opposing the terrorists” and held in humid tunnels with little air for extended periods. Despite these hardships, the hostages gained strength and hope from seeing reports of campaigns for their release.

Hostages were kept in various locations, including tunnels, apartments, and a UNRWA facility. Many hostages endured harsh conditions, including hunger, poor hygiene, psychological terror, and physical confinement. Some were held in dark rooms or cages, while others were forced to work for their captors doing housework like cooking, cleaning, and childcare. Some hostages were held in isolation. Despite the difficulties, some hostages tried to maintain their identities by avoiding eating leavened bread during Passover, fasting on Yom Kippur, and keeping the Sabbath. Some hostages could communicate with their captors using their Arabic language skills and were given access to reading material. Additionally, hostages were sometimes forced to make videos or write letters sympathetic to Hamas under duress for propaganda.

A medical official stated, concerning Eli Sharabi, Or Levy, and Ohad Ben Ami, that “the condition of the hostages who returned from captivity is no different from that of people who spent a year in a concentration camp.” He said, “This is a medical emergency...their condition is severe and concerning—they suffer from malnutrition, muscle mass loss, prolonged infections, and more.” Sharabi lost roughly 40% of his body weight.

Sasha Trufanov was held alone in captivity in Khan Yunis for his entire duration of captivity. It was only after his release that he learned of his father’s murder. As a Russian citizen, Troufanov was also released in part as a result of Russian pressure on Hamas.

Kfir and Ariel Bibas were murdered in November of 2023 by terrorists with their bare hands in captivity, forensic findings and assessments of professional officials found. 

Omer Wenkert, Tal Shoham, Eliya Cohen, and Omer Shem Tov faced severe conditions while held in Hamas captivity. They were mainly held in tunnels where they experienced both physical and mental torture. Omer Wenkert lost 66 pounds during his captivity. While in the tunnels, Wenkert learned about the death of his girlfriend. Shem Tov, who lost 37 pounds, was forced to disguise himself as a Muslim woman during captivity and subjected to staged humiliation rituals, including being forced to kiss his captors. He was also forced to kiss his captor on the head upon his release. Cohen recounted deep wounds from restraints of shackles and deliberate psychological torture, such as guards eating in front of starving captives and shining flashlights into their eyes. Cohen was not aware that his girlfriend was not killed during his abduction. Before release, hostages were overfed to appear healthier, masking the harsh reality of their captivity. Upon his return, Mengistu spoke very little, struggling to communicate. His family described his mental state as profoundly concerning.

Hisham Al-Sayed’s father, Shaaban, stated in an interview that he was shocked by his son’s poor mental and physical state, describing him as “destroyed, emotionally and cognitively,” noting his poor mental state, lack of communication, and appearance. He expressed his disbelief at Hamas’s cruelty.

Former hostage Eliya Cohen, abducted from the Nova music festival and held captive for 505 days, revealed in an interview that Hamas-led terrorists killed a fellow captive who attempted to escape while being transported to Gaza on October 7, 2023. Cohen recounted the horrific conditions in captivity, including severe starvation, limited movement due to chains, and psychological torment from his captors, who occasionally granted small food rewards. He described the harrowing attack on the roadside bomb shelter where he and other festivalgoers sought refuge, recalling how off-duty soldier Aner Shapiro heroically threw grenades back at the attackers before being killed. Cohen was later seized and taken to Gaza, enduring brutal treatment before being held in underground tunnels with other captives. He noted that in the final weeks of his captivity, his captors significantly increased his food supply after public outrage over the condition of released hostages.

Unfathomable Trauma

The survivors of the October 7 attack by Hamas endured an unimaginable ordeal, marked by profound loss, violence, and enduring emotional scars. Returned hostages lost up to 55 pounds and suffered significant muscle deterioration and complex medical challenges that will require long-term rehabilitation.

Carmit Palty Katzir described what happened to her mother, Hanna, who died following her release: “My mother entered captivity taking one blood pressure medication. After 49 days without it, she returned with severe cardiac issues, arrhythmias, and respiratory failure. The contaminated conditions in Gaza – polluted water, air, and deadly fungi – contributed to her decline. She lost basic functions – walking, standing, using the bathroom, breathing independently. She was sedated and ventilated for months before succumbing to these complications.”

Months after Hamas’s massacre at the Nova music festival that took the lives of over 360 people, survivors and family members meet up once a week to participate in trance therapy and prove they will dance again.

Omer Wenkert survived the Nova massacre and was taken from a shelter where a grenade killed his friend. He said in an interview that although he was cut off from the outside world throughout his 505 days in captivity, he knew from the behavior of his captors when something bad happened. “Every deal that fell through would bring up a lot of frustration, rage, and anger,” Wenkert said. “Not to mention when one of their fathers was killed, or their families, or when their senior officials were assassinated. You feel it. You know exactly what happened.”

Wenker said the terrorists would beat him, spit on him, and force him to do strenuous exercises to punish and humiliate him.

Wenkert spent time in a tunnel with four Thai workers and Liom Or, who was later released. Wenkert said they were beaten and spent much of the time in complete darkness with little food or water. He thought he would be released soon after Or was freed in the first ceasefire. Instead, he was transferred to a ten-square-foot cell and spent another 452 days in captivity, 197 by himself.

Gadi Mozes, an 80-year-old farmer from Kibbutz Nir Oz, was released after 482 days of captivity. He said he was fed twice daily — pita with beans in the morning and rice in the afternoon. Mozes was held in 10 locations, including the designated humanitarian zone of Al-Mawasi, near the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, and a nearby school.

“My captor explains to me, ‘There is one thing you don’t understand about Islam,’” said Mozes. “‘I’m required to protect you before I protect myself. But be aware that if your army comes to save you — first we’ll shoot you and then defend ourselves.”

Before his release, he was forced to film a propaganda video praising his PIJ kidnappers. He was filmed at gunpoint while standing in front of an open grave in a cemetery. “Then, suddenly, they started asking me, ‘Is it true the Jihad’s food was good?’ I said, ‘Good? Fantastic! I’ve never eaten such good rice,’” said Mozes. “‘And is it true they treated you well?’ I said: ‘Extremely well…’ It was all scripted and taped,” he said.

Mozes voiced a common grievance among hostages, noting that no government officials welcomed him home and that Netanyahu declined invitations from residents to visit his kibbutz.

Ilana Gritzewsky was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and taken by motorcycle to Gaza. Interviewed by the New York Times, she said that during the trip, a terrorist groped her from behind and pressed her leg against the exhaust pipe, burning it. She passed out and woke up in a building with her pants down and shirt up, and seven terrorists eyeing her. She was unaware what happened to her when she was unconscious but told them she had her period in hopes of discouraging them from raping her. She spent over 50 days captive and was moved to private homes, a hospital, and a tunnel. One terrorist told her she would never be released because he wanted to marry her and have her children. She was released during the first ceasefire on November 30, 2023, and discovered her hip was broken. Her partner, who was also kidnapped, remained in captivity at the time of the interview.

Keith Siegel, an Israeli American hostage held by Hamas for 484 days, described to the New York Times multiple instances of abuse he witnessed and endured in captivity:

• Torture of a female hostage: Hamas gunmen took a woman from a group of captives, threatening her with a pistol and leading her into a separate room. Siegel was forced to follow and witnessed her being beaten with “primitive tools.” He was ordered to tell her, “the torturing will continue until they admit what they were being accused of.” He recalled feeling “helpless” as he tried but failed to stop the abuse: “I want to help this woman… and just felt helpless.”

• Psychological torment: Siegel was coerced into recording a propaganda video. He broke down in tears, hoping the footage would be cut. Instead, it was aired on Al Jazeera. “That was very, very hard for me to think that my family would see that.”

• Threats of execution: A captor once handed Siegel a pistol, demanding he take it. When Siegel refused, the man pointed the gun at him and said, “Now you’re dead.” The captor then pointed the gun at himself and laughed before leaving. Siegel feared, “If he kills himself, the other terrorists will be sure that I shot him, and then what’s going to happen to me?”

• Degrading treatment: Siegel said captors spat on him, screamed at him, kicked him while he lay on the ground, and withheld food even as they ate. He endured isolation, moving through over 30 locations, including a tunnel more than 100 feet underground, where he struggled to breathe: “I thought about death many times in that tunnel.”

These experiences illustrate the severe physical and psychological abuse Siegel and other hostages faced during their prolonged captivity.

Abuse by Gaza Civilians

Ron Krivoi was captured at the Nova festival. He was first held in a Gaza apartment that was bombed by the Israeli Air Force allowing him to escape. He is the only hostage known to have escaped without being killed. He eluded terrorists for several days before being recaptured. “The people who caught me beat me up,” he said. “The people who beat me were ordinary Gazans who took out all their frustration on me,” he said.

He was taken underground. “These aren’t the tunnels you see in pictures. We were in something really small, deep underground. There wasn’t even a floor – we were on sand, and the mattresses were all moldy,” he related. “We were inside a very, very small cage. Honestly, about a meter and a half by a meter and a half, and we had to lie down and rest in it – you couldn’t stand. No toilets, no food. We were five people, we ate one small dish with some canned food and a pita that we divided among us. I was there for 51 days and lost nine kilograms (20 pounds) of body weight.”

“This is something that even if a person tries to imagine – they’ll never be able to truly understand what it’s like down there,” he added.

Krivoi described how fellow hostage Matan Angrest was tortured. He was captured from a tank and was the only survivor of the killed. “The interrogations he went through happened while still in Israeli territory – that’s where it started. They already connected him to a car battery on the way and tried to revive him. Using car batteries, they electrocuted him,” Krivoi said. “They weren’t able to interrogate him. He probably wasn’t even in a condition to speak because he was badly injured. His injuries were very severe.”

“I know that if I didn’t have Russian citizenship, I could still be in that tunnel with Matan to this day. I’m here because of a miracle – it was Putin who brought me home. If not for him, I wouldn’t be here today,” added Krivoi, who was born in Israel to a Russian immigrant family.

Krivoi was released on November 26 after 51 days in captivity, one of several hostages with Russian citizenship released in a gesture to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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