Details of an investigation into the daily lives of the freed hostages in the Gaza Strip, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv, were published in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Wednesday morning.
According to the report, the three rescued hostages lived in a dark room for six months, sleeping on small mattresses on the floor. Their only connection to the outside world was through guards who brought them food and would occasionally abuse them.
The former hostages shared that they could hear the Gazan family living downstairs, including their children, but they never met them. However, one day, when the family went out, they were allowed to go downstairs and use the kitchen.
Punishments were given when the hostages did not adhere to their Hamas captors’ strict rules, including locking them in the bathroom, piling blankets on them during hot weather, and repeatedly threatening to kill them.
Despite the hardships, the hostages learned Arabic, taught each other Hebrew or Russian, and kept track of time in journals. The three became close friends, and this bond helped them endure the hardships.
At times, their guards told them that no one cared about them or that no one would come to rescue them. However, on Meir’s birthday – the day of which he only knew because they kept a notebook to keep track of the dates – they were allowed to watch an Al Jazeera broadcast in Arabic. They saw a rally in Tel Aviv of the hostages’ families, where he reported recognizing his face on the signs among the crowd.
“It made him feel that he was not forgotten,” said Aviram Meir, Almog’s uncle.
Unveiling the trauma
The description of the hostages’ time in Gaza was based on interviews with the hostages’ relatives and with security and medical officials. With still much to uncover concerning their, and Noa Argamani’s, ordeal since their brutal kidnapping from the Nova Festival on October 7, Israeli security officials have asked the hostages and their relatives to keep the details of their captivity confidential.
A full account of the abuse suffered by other hostages who were earlier released emerged only more than a month after the fact, with descriptions of being held in underground tunnels and experiencing mental, physical, and sexual abuse.
A doctor treating groups of hostages rescued or released since October 7 stated that despite initial positive assessments based on their cheerful appearance on television, they had endured “physical and mental torture.”
Dr. Itai Pesach, part of the team at Sheba Medical Center in central Israel who treated the rescued hostages, said that their initial appearance was largely due to the adrenaline in their bodies and the joy of their release. Security forces and the hostages identified Palestinian journalist Abdallah Al-Jamal, who lived in the apartment, as one of their captors.
Abdallah and his father, Ahmed Al-Jamal – a doctor and imam at a local mosque run by Hamas – were both killed during the operation. Neighbors said they always knew that Abdallah Al-Jamal was affiliated with Hamas.
The rescue operation was conducted under heavy Hamas fire in the crowded streets of Nuseirat in central Gaza. Pesach said it was likely that the hostages’ weight changed during captivity due to fear, stress, and abuse. He noted that they showed signs of muscle atrophy and malnutrition and had lost the ability to perform certain activities.
“We heard stories that go beyond anything imaginable,” said Pesach. When the three male hostages arrived in Israel, they appeared well-groomed, with shaved heads and clean beards. Aviram Meir described his nephew’s skin as pale. “They didn’t see the sun for eight months,” he said.
The successful rescue operation will force Hamas to change how it hides hostages, but it may not necessarily increase the severity of their conditions, said Yunes al-Zarai, a Palestinian political commentator told the WSJ.
“It is reasonable to assume that they will ensure no more than one captive is in the same location and frequently move the hostages to prevent detection. Their security mechanism will manage these arrangements,” said al-Zarai.
It is still unclear where the three male hostages were held before being transferred to the house where they were rescued. Argamani was held in houses with other hostages before reaching the final location. Other released hostages reported being held underground in tunnels.
According to knowledgeable sources, American intelligence operatives in Israel assist in locating hostages. The fact that the three male hostages were held together for such a long period without a rescue operation indicates the high level of intelligence required for a successful rescue, said Avi Kalo, former commander of hostage affairs in the Israeli military.
“They need to be verified with high intelligence standards,” he said.
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