Released Israeli Hostages Reveal Brutal Treatment at Hands of Hamas Captors

Latest Developments

• New Hostage Accounts Confirm Depravity of Hamas: After Hamas released the remaining 20 living hostages from Gaza on October 13 in exchange for approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, the former captives detailed their horrific experiences while in captivity. Matan Angrest was “beaten so badly that he lost his consciousness,” according to his mother, Anat. “They covered him with black sacks and dragged him away,” she said, adding that Angrest’s chronic asthma was continuously triggered by violent interrogations at the hands of his Hamas captors. 
• Used as Human Shields: The mother of freed hostage Alon Ohel said that her son had been chained in the same tunnel for nearly two years, before being moved toward central Gaza some 40 days before his release in an intentional move to deploy him as a human shield against IDF attacks. Meanwhile, Evyatar David’s father said that his son had suffered both physical and psychological abuse by Hamas, which released a video of David digging his own grave in August. Separately, Avinatan Or, who was held in total isolation for the two years of his captivity, lost between 30 and 40 percent of his body weight. 
• Medical Neglect: Former hostage Maya Regev recounted being placed in a room at Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital with Guy Illouz, whose body was returned to Israel on October 13. Regev recalled that Illouz, a sound technician at the Nova music festival, was “kidnapped unconscious and lay alone for a whole week, tied to his bed.” The IDF stated that Illouz “died from his wounds after not receiving proper medical treatment while held captive by Hamas.” Meanwhile, Hamas said on October 15 that it has no knowledge of the whereabouts of the rest of the deceased hostages, after returning only nine out of 28 bodies.

FDD Expert Response

“The latest revelations about Hamas’s torture of the hostages should come as no surprise. Hamas took over 250 hostages on October 7, and through the testimony of the survivors we know that not just Hamas and terror groups, but also ordinary Gazans, were involved in the cruel and prolonged mistreatment of Israeli and foreign hostages.” — Enia Krivine, Senior Director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Network

“While the brutality endured by the hostages is beyond question, their two years in captivity may have produced something unexpected: valuable intelligence. In the aftermath of their release, Israel’s Shin Bet has almost certainly debriefed the hostages to glean insights into Hamas’s internal operations and command. Whether those insights will translate into actionable intelligence remains uncertain. Yet, few individuals outside the Islamist group may possess such an intimate understanding of how Hamas functions during wartime, a perspective that could prove invaluable in shaping Israel’s future counterstrategy against the group.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal

FDD Background and Analysis

“Will Trump’s Gaza peace deal fail?” by Mark Dubowitz

“Hamas begins transfer of deceased hostages, Israel threatens to limit aid due to slow pace,” by Seth J. Frantzman

“Egypt Says 15 Palestinian Technocrats Approved To Manage Post-War Gaza,” FDD Flash Brief