Father of released hostage Hisham al-Sayed makes heartbreaking statement: "He can't speak, he has no memory"

Shaaban al-Sayed opened up about the heartbreaking reality upon seeing his son’s return: "When we saw Hisham getting into the Red Cross vehicle, we were happy he was walking on his feet. But I saw that he’s not a person—he can’t speak, he has no memory of anything. From here, I call on the decision-makers: hurry up and bring everyone back, because this is the most important thing."

The father continued to describe the brutality of Hamas in holding a hostage like Hisham: "Now we will talk about our family and Hisham, and we hope he will recover. Yesterday Hisham came to us, and we’ve always believed that Hamas, which claims to be a liberation movement, turned out to be the opposite. We saw Hamas spinning politics on the back of a mentally ill person. According to Islam, he is someone who has no sins against him."

Shaaban also directed his anger towards the Arab world: "We want the Arab world to consider what it has to say about the murderers and kidnappers of people working in jobs? And those who are dressed in traditional Bedouin clothes?"

Additionally, he shared details about Hisham’s condition: "When we received Hisham, we were worried he wouldn’t be able to walk. But when we saw him getting out of Gaza and into the Red Cross vehicle, we were happy he was walking and had reached Israel. We were happy to start hugging him, but I saw that I was hugging a lump that wasn’t a person. He looks like a person, but he’s not a person. He can’t speak, has no voice, and has no memory of anything. It just feels like he wasn’t with human beings. We’re angry about this and want answers."

Shaaban ended his statement with an urgent call for the return of all hostages: "From here, I call on all those involved in negotiations to hurry and bring everyone back because this is extremely important. Thank you."