Israeli hostages are being tortured and deliberately starved by Hamas in Gaza, with some being denied treatment for wounds they sustained during the terror attack of October 7, 2023, according to the latest report on freed hostages.
The Israeli public was shocked on Saturday by the appearance of three men released by Hamas under the ongoing ceasefire deal. It has now learned that they were left without food for days at a time and subjected to physical torture.
The Times of Israel reported:
The new information followed the release Saturday of hostages Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy, who returned to Israel dangerously emaciated. They were said to have gone for days without food, and then only given a single rotten pita bread to share. Their captors would reportedly cover the hostages’ mouths in a thick cloth that made it difficult for them to breathe. Before their public handover ceremony, the hostages were paraded in front of cheering terrorists.
In addition, returning hostages provided information about the conditions in which other hostages were being held. According to the Hostages Families Forum, one hostage, Alon Ohel, whose birthday happens to be today (his second in captivity), “has shrapnel in his eye, shoulder and arm, and he was bound in chains throughout his time in captivity, while being starved.” The Times of Israel noted that similar reports had been received about other hostages:
Sigi Cohen said the hostages testified that her son [Eliya] was being held in a tunnel, has been chained for the entire length of his captivity, gets little food or daylight, and suffers from an untreated bullet wound to the leg sustained during the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023.
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Meanwhile, Vicky Cohen, mother of 20-year-old captive soldier Nimrod Cohen, told Channel 12 Monday that a returning hostage had been held with her son for some six months. She said the hostage told her Nimrod was held in a tunnel for most of his captivity and was not bound, but appeared to be in poor physical and mental shape. Nimrod Cohen was said to trust that his family was doing everything to save him.
U.S. President Donald Trump expressed outrage on Sunday with the condition of the hostages, saying that they looked like Holocaust survivors, and adding that his “patience is running out” with the conduct of Hamas.
Palestinians have millions of tons of aid throughout the war that Hamas started with Israel. There is little evidence that any of it reached the hostages, including medical aid that was specifically promised to be delivered to them.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has not visited the hostages, and has collaborated with Hamas in propaganda events and videos upon the hostages’ release, often adding to the psychological torture of the hostages.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
