Rescued Israeli hostages beaten 'almost every day' in Hamas captivity

Shlomi Ziv, a rescued Israeli hostage, hugs his loved ones. Source: ISRAELI ARMY/via REUTERS

The Israeli hostages rescued over the weekend were beaten while in Hamas captivity and were left malnourished due to lack of food, the doctor in charge of their treatment said.

«It was a harsh, harsh experience, with a lot of abuse, almost every day,» Dr. Itai Pesach told CNN at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv. “Every hour, physical, mental, and others, and this is something beyond understanding.”

Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Yan, 22, Andrei Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv, 41, were all kidnapped at the Nova music festival in southern Israel on October 7 and taken to the Gaza Strip.

According to Dr. Pesach, the hostages were moved several times and kept under the supervision of various guards. The supply of food and water was inconsistent, and there were periods when they received almost no food at all.

“They had no protein, so their muscles were extremely depleted, and because of this, some other systems were damaged,” said he.

He added that «a combination of psychological stress, malnutrition» as well as «medical neglect, limited space and lack of sun» had a significant impact on their health.

Dr. Pesach, who also treated some of the hostages released under ceasefire agreement back in November, said the psychological damage to the four released this weekend was more severe due to the length of time they were held captive.

“Over time, the hope of liberation diminishes and you begin to wonder if it will ever end… I think losing that faith is the point where you reach a breaking point,” he said.

Shlomi Ziv (top left), Andrei Kozlov (top right), Almog Meir Jan (bottom left) and Noah Argamani were rescued by the IDF over the weekend

The hostages have so far shared snippets of their ordeal through family and friends. and short comments for the Israeli press.

Ms. Argamani said she was almost killed by an Israeli air force missile strike, Channel 13 reported.

“I saw the missile entered the house; I was sure I was going to die,” she told her family members. She added: “I thought that was it, but I stayed alive.”