Nir Oz Hostages Describe Captivity: ‘Little Food And Medicines, No Torture’

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Israeli reporter Alon Ben David revealed on Channel 13 some of the testimonies from the hostages released Friday night in the first stage of the prisoner exchange.

Ben David said that Shin Bet operatives spoke “very gently” with the hostages about their harrowing experiences. They remembered everything, including the fact that the entire group from Nir Oz had been taken on the same route. They were taken into a long tunnel, some on motorcycles and others by foot and said that they walked for 4-5 kilometers until they arrived at their destination- apparently under a hospital in Khan Younis, a town in the south which has not been attacked by Israel. Most of the time the group were kept together and did not suffer torture or violence while they were there.

Ben David added that “There wasn’t much food, they ate little. There were attempts by Hamas to provide medications but not in an organized manner, but the hostages described a situation in which most of the time they were together and this apparently gave them the resilience to withstand the awful conditions and the uncertainty. Some heard on the radio while in the tunnels of their relatives who had been murdered on Oct. 7th, while others only found out yesterday from their families.”

The families said that they played games to stave off boredom (“it wasn’t easy”) and kept track of the days so that they could celebrate birthdays together.

Channel 12 News reports that the hostages recalled that during the trip to Rafah Crossing on Friday afternoon, rocks and other objects were thrown at them. They feared they would be subjected to a lynching, and feared for their lives as they were taken to freedom.