Hostages relate stories of Hamas' physical, psychological torture following release

Hamas continues provocations throughout launch ceremony, together with use of car stolen from captive’s brother

The three hostages launched by Hamas on Saturday, Yair Horn, Alexander Trupanov, and Sagui Dekel-Chen, described bodily and psychological abuse of the arms of their captors. 

Whereas there was some trepidation in Israel relating to the situation of the hostages following the earlier launch through which the three hostages got here again emaciated, the three males launched on Saturday appeared in higher bodily situation. 

Nonetheless, as with earlier teams of hostages, the boys who returned on Saturday shared tales of bodily and psychological abuse by the hands of Hamas. 

Hours after the three returned to Israel, they started to share testimonies from their time in captivity. All three had been kidnapped by Hamas terrorists after being wounded and subjected to violence that aggravated their accidents. Sagui Dekel-Chen underwent surgical procedure for his shoulder harm in captivity and nonetheless suffers from open wounds. He was held along with Yair Horn in underground tunnels together with three different hostages. Sasha Tropanov was held alone. 

In keeping with public broadcaster Kan, Dekel-Chen was shot within the shoulder on Oct. 7, and unsuccessfully handled throughout his captivity. Nonetheless, upon his launch, he instructed IDF troopers to are likely to his wound later, as “an important factor is for me to fulfill my household now.” 

As in earlier releases, Hamas and Islamic Jihad freed the three with “presents”: discharge certificates, souvenirs and medals. Yair Horn, whose brother stays in captivity, obtained an hourglass from Hamas with an image of Einav Zangaucker and her son Matan, who stays in captivity as nicely. The hourglass has an indication with the phrase “Time is operating out” written in Hebrew and Arabic. The three males mentioned that after such a very long time in captivity, they communicate some Arabic. 

The hostages had been additionally moved round, as reported by beforehand freed hostages. Dekel Chen was held in a hospital in Gaza, together with different hostages from Nir Oz, together with Itzik Elgart, till the start of the primary hostage-ceasefire settlement on Nov. 24, 2023. 

After the primary hostage launch, Dekel-Chen, and the opposite Nir Ounceshostages had been separated. Yair Horn met his brother, Eitan, within the tunnels underneath Gaza earlier in his captivity, nonetheless, he has not seen him lately and the household doesn’t know his situation. 

Yair Horn’s mom, Ruthie Strom, mentioned that he obtained a number of blows to the top throughout his captivity, and that he was saved in tunnels more often than not. 

Channel 12 information reported that the three hostages had been wrongly thought-about to be troopers and had been usually interrogated by Hamas, together with using torture, in makes an attempt to realize helpful intelligence. 

In a last factor of psychological abuse, the three hostages had been delivered to the handover ceremony in a pickup truck stolen from Yair’s brother, Eitan, in the course of the Oct. 7 invasion. The truck was recognized by the household who owned it beforehand, whereas watching the discharge ceremony.

Within the submit, Rotem Nechemya relates how her household offered the truck “to a stunning man named Eitan who lives within the [Gaza] Envelope.”

“On 07.10 we found that Eitan had been kidnapped however we did not know that the car had been kidnapped with him,” she associated. The household solely came upon when watching the discharge ceremony.

A Hamas official later confirmed to Al Jazeera that the car was stolen in the course of the invasion of Nir Oz. 

In the course of the launch ceremony, terrorists from Hamas’ army wing arrived on the launch level in Khan Younis sporting IDF uniforms, army vests, and carrying IDF weapons taken in the course of the previous 12 months of combating. 

This text was initially revealed at All Israel Information