After seven weeks of captivity, nearly forty abductees from Gaza returned to Israel. Although the full information surrounding the abductions has not yet been published, today the French press publishes new details provided by the families about the conditions in which some of their loved ones lived during the long weeks of waiting and suffering.
"There were no beds, we slept on adjacent chairs"
Meirav Raviv, whose cousin Keren Munder, her 9-year-old son Ohad, and mother Ruth were released by Hamas, said that there were days when there was a lack of food, "On some days they had nothing to eat, and sometimes they had to wait between an hour and a half and two hours between wanting to go to the bathroom and when they were allowed to go," she adds that her cousin and aunt each lost about 7 kilos. She also says that her family members do not sleep on beds, but on rows of chairs next to each other in the room.
Meirav explained that the kidnappers who arrested her family were armed and their faces were exposed and not covered, they suffered from constant threats "It was scary, they kept doing this to them", and she ran her thumb over her neck to simulate slitting her throat.
Yocheved Lishpitz, who was released a few weeks ago, says that she was beaten several times before being held in the tunnels that extend under Gaza, "It's like a spider's web." Regarding the food in captivity, she said "We ate pita bread, cheese, and cucumbers, that was the only meal of the day".
"She wasn't used to sunlight, she forgot that it was allowed to speak out loud"
Other hostages appear to have experienced the same conditions of detention underground. Eyal Nouri, the nephew of Adina Moshe, 72, who was released on Friday, said his aunt "had to adjust to sunlight" because she was kept in the dark for weeks. "She walked with her eyes down because she was in a tunnel and was no longer used to daylight. During her captivity, she was cut off from the outside world."
Another testimony, by Yair Rotem, whose 12-year-old niece was released on Sunday, says that the family should have reminded her that she should not whisper.
Although most of the freed hostages were able to walk and talk normally, doctors warned of the terrible psychological side effects that these weeks of captivity could cause.
