As the fourth day of the initial truce between Israel and Hamas drew to a close, stories began to emerge about the conditions under which the hostages were being held in Gaza.
Elma Avraham, 84, remains hospitalized in critical condition after being held for 51 days, reported The Times of Israel.
“Elma was evacuated in serious condition. She is being treated in the general ICU and is still in serious condition, unstable, unconscious, and on a respirator. There is a danger to her life,” said Moti Klein, head of Soroka’s ICU, on Monday, reported Israel National News.
“She arrived semiconscious. From tests we performed, blood tests, and other tests, her condition is the result of the fact that she did not receive the medications she was supposed to receive — medications that essentially keep her alive,” he added.
“My mother did not deserve to come back this way,” said Avraham’s daughter, Tal Amano, according to Israel National News. “She came with a heartbeat of 40 and a body temperature of [82.4 degrees Fahrenheit], semiconscious and injured all over. She was kept in unfair conditions.”
Uri Ravitz, Avraham’s son, explained how Hamas was trying to convince everyone that the hostages were well taken care of.
“We see how Hamas is trying to make it seem, using psychological warfare, as if they are humanitarian and take care of [people]. They are not,” he said, per Israel National News.
Ruti Munder was held in captivity for 49 days along with her daughter and 9-year-old grandson. Munder learned her son’s fate while listening to the radio, reported Israel National News. Munder’s son, Roi, was killed in the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas.
Hostages were kept both above ground and underground. They were allegedly not permitted to shower during more than seven weeks of captivity and were only given a change of clothes just prior to being released, per Israel National News.
“It was stuffy. We weren’t permitted to open the curtains. I just opened a window so I could have some air. We slept on chairs like we were waiting in a hospital, without a mattress,” 78-year-old Munder said of her experience.
“This is the longest time I’ve been with my daughter and my grandson together, in a closed and crowded place, with each other. I was optimistic. I understood that if we were alive, it meant they murdered whoever they wanted to murder at Nir Oz, where they also murdered my son,” she said, per Israel National News.
Seventy-two-year-old Adina Moshe’s nephew, Eyal Nouri, described her experience as “horrible,” reported the Associated Press, noting that she “had to adjust to the sunlight” after “she was in complete darkness” for weeks. Moshe only learned after she was released that Hamas had killed her husband.
No one can predict how the trauma of the October 7 attack will affect the survivors, many of whom reportedly witnessed their relatives being tortured and murdered before being taken captive by Hamas operatives.
“It is still too early to say what the emotional state of the children is. They are covered by professional teams. Since their arrival, we have been accompanying the children, women, and their family members,” said Silvana Fennig, director of the Department of Psychological Medicine at Schneider Hospital, per Israel National News.
Twelve-year-old Hila Rotem-Shoshani, who was released on Sunday, had been told to whisper for so long by her captors that she initially continued to whisper even after she was reunited with her family, according to the AP.
On Sunday, a group of hostages released by Hamas included dual Israeli-U.S. citizen Abigail Edan, who turned four in captivity. Abigail’s parents were killed before her very eyes on October 7. Edan was the first American hostage freed by the terrorist group. She was met by her aunt and grandmother following her release.
On Monday, Qatar announced that the truce would be extended by two days to facilitate the release of more hostages.
