Andrei Kozlov (center) reunites with his family after being rescued. Photo: Hostage and Missing Families Forum
Israeli hostage is the latest to be freed Over the weekend, he believed rescuers had come to kill him because of eight months of brainwashing in Hamas captivity, his mother said.
Evgenia Kozlov told The Telegraph that her 27-year-old son Andrei was subjected to both psychological and physical influence. torture by Hamas terrorists who kidnapped him at the Nova music festival in southern Israel on October 7.
For the first two months, his hands and feet were tied, and sometimes his captors piled up to 10 blankets on him in hot weather or deprived him of the toilet. But the mental abuse was especially painful, she said.
«He said he was brainwashed… they told them that no one needed them, that no one was fighting for them,» Ms Kozlova said, adding that her son's kidnappers tried to convince him and the three men, with with whom he was held, because their families moved. and their girlfriends were dating other men.
“They said that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wanted to kill them and that this would be the solution to the war. Therefore, at the moment when the IDF came, Andrei thought that they had come to kill them.”
On Saturday, Israeli commandos launched a daring daylight raid in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip. to return four hostages.
Video footage shows the squad fighting their way through automatic fire to reach an apartment building on the ground floor, where Kozlov, 22-year-old Almog Meir Yan and 41-year-old Shlomi Ziv were held captive.
All three, as well as 26-year-old Noa Argamani, a hostage who was herself imprisoned in nearby apartment building, were returned to Israel on Saturday.
Mr. Kozlov, an Israeli from Russia, and his fellow captives looked terrified, raising their hands in the air and leaning against a nearby wall as the IDF arrived to pick them up.
“It took him a while to realize that the army had come to take them back to Israel. It was only after the soldier told them that they loved them and that they would be okay that they would be safe. Only after these words did he believe,” Kozlova said about her son.
“He said he wanted to touch the soldiers, hold their hands or their clothes, just to feel safe, like a child. He said the soldiers were like superheroes and that he finally felt safe.»
The commando team then had to fight their way back out of the building while protecting the hostages.
In a fierce crossfire their commander Arnon Zmora, 36 years old, a married father of two children, was mortally wounded.
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Andrei Kozlov meets his parents after Israeli soldiers take him to safety. Photo: Reuters
Under a volley of bullets and grenade launchers from Hamas terrorists, their recovery vehicle broke down, forcing the group, including Mr. Kozlov, to take shelter in a nearby building, where they requested air cover.
Several rockets struck the crowded streets, causing carnage as civilians fled in terror. Gaza's health ministry estimates that at least 274 people, including women and children, were killed. The number of combat casualties remains unclear, and the IDF's own estimates put the death toll on Saturday closer to 100.
The hostages were taken unharmed to a helicopter that was waiting for them on the beach.
And that was all. Once they were safely in Israeli airspace, Ms. Kozlova, at home in Russia, received the call she had been waiting for.
“They said we have news, so please sit down, so I put the phone away because I didn’t want to hear bad news. I started crying: “No, no, no!” And then they shouted from the phone: “We have good news, please answer!” she said.
The first object she threw at Kozlova. her suitcase was her tennis racket.
Andrei Kozlov was rescued during a daring daytime IDF raid by a volley of bullets and mortars. Photo: REUTERS/Marko Djurica
“I love tennis, but I didn’t touch it for eight whole months, I didn’t allow myself to enjoy life, do what I love,” she said, describing how she rushed to the airport.
< p>A year and a half ago, Kozlov moved to Rishon LeZion, a coastal city south of Tel Aviv. When he was kidnapped, he was working as a security guard at the Nova festival.
Due to the distance between them, the first conversation between mother and son took place via video link.
>“He shouted: “Mom, I survived twice, and I’m home, I’m home!” We couldn't really talk. We both screamed and cried and smiled and it was full of happiness and I couldn't stop laughing. I was very excited and wanted to go up and physically hug him,” Ms. Kozlova said.
At first she was afraid of how his ordeal might change him, but “then I saw my son and despite that terrible experience, I felt that this was my boy,” she said.
“In the first sentence, he told me that he always knew that he would return. It was for this reason that he never said goodbye on October 7 and never sent a message with the sad news.”
He stayed strong by journaling, trying to keep his mind occupied, and training in confined spaces. space.
“He said it actually gave him strength to fight and hope that he would come home,” Ms. Kozlova said.
Other posts Media say the three hostages taught each other Hebrew and Russian and formed a strong bond that helped them endure harsh conditions.
But Dr. Itai Pessah, a member of the Sheba Medical Center team that treated the hostages, told the Wall Street Journal that their initial healthy appearance was due in part to the adrenaline and glee they felt during the escape.
He found that a more thorough examination showed signs of muscle wasting and malnutrition, and their weight probably fluctuated due to for fear and abuse. .
As happy as Ms. Kozlova and her family were about Andrei's release, she said they also felt guilty for families who lost loved ones in the Oct. 7 attack or who are waiting for news about hostages still being held in Gaza.
“The story is not over. We have another 120 people, we have to fight for them and get them back in any way possible — whether it's a deal or another operation,” she said.
“Every day someone can lose their life.”
She thanked everyone involved in saving her son and paid tribute to Mr. Zmora, the officer who died.
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“I was destroyed physically and mentally when I found out that this soldier was killed during the operation. I don't have words to describe how I feel about this situation. I feel like I owe my life and my child's life to this guy, and it's terrible.»
Mr Kozlov's father, Mikhail, said when he posted on social media that he was devastated by Mr Zmora. someone answered: “Now Andrey knows what name to choose for his son in the future.”
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