Rescued Israeli hostages were starved, beaten ‘almost every day’ in Hamas captivity: ‘Beyond comprehension’
The four Israeli hostages rescued during a daring military operation over the weekend were starved and beaten “almost every day” by Hamas terrorists during their eight months in captivity, their doctor has revealed.
Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv, 41, suffered the horrific abuse after they were all kidnapped from the Supernova desert rave during the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks.
“It was a harsh, harsh experience, with a lot of abuse, almost every day,” Dr. Itai Pessach, who has been treating the freed hostages at the Tel Hashomer Hospital in central Israel, told CNN.
“Every hour, both physical, mental, and other types, and that is something that is beyond comprehension.”
The hostages opened up about the months-long torture they endured after being saved by Israeli forces during Saturday’s daring rescue in Nuseirat in central Gaza.
The doctor said they revealed they had been moved by their Hamas captors several times while in captivity and the harm inflicted on them had “left a significant mark on their health.”
“They had no protein, so their muscles are extremely wasted, there is damage to some other systems because of that,” Pessach said, adding that the food and water supply was at times non-existent.
“There have been periods where they got almost no food whatsoever,” he continued.
“There were other periods where it was a little better, but all in all, the combination of the psychological stress, malnutrition or not getting enough food or not getting the right kind of food, medical neglect, being limited to space, not seeing the sun and all of the other things have [a] significant effect on health.”
The three male hostages, who were kept together inside the family home of Palestinian journalist Abdallah Aljamal, all relied on each other for mental support during the grueling ordeal, Aviram Meir, Almog’s uncle, told The Post.
The three men played cards together and gave each other haircuts to pass the time and keep each other sane, Aviram said.
Almog and Kozlov also found some comfort in teaching each other Hebrew and Russian, respectively, while also studying Arabic.
“It’s very warming to see how they love each other,” the uncle said.
While the men tried their best to keep each other’s spirits alive, their cruel captors would try to shatter their hopes, telling them that no one was coming to rescue them.
But on his birthday on May 11, Almog was somehow able to catch an Al Jazeera report, where he saw his own picture at a Family Forum Rally in Tel Aviv, letting him know that his nation was still searching for him.
“It was then he understood he hadn’t been forgotten,” Aviram said.
The hostages, whom the Israeli military initially said were in good health, were all reunited with their loved ones over the weekend after being rushed to the Israeli hospital.
Among them was Argamani — the young woman who became the symbol of the Oct. 7 bloodshed when she was filmed shouting “Don’t kill me!” as she was driven into Gaza on a motorbike.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog released a clip of a smiling Argamani speaking to him on the phone from the hospital while flanked by her family and friends.
The reunions, however, were not without heartbreak, as Almog was quickly told that his father, who had been glued to the TV for news of his son every day following his abduction, had died of a heart attack on the night before his son was rescued.
“My brother died of grief and didn’t get to see his son return. The night before Almog’s return, my brother’s heart stopped,” Almog’s aunt Dina Jan told the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation.
