Inhuman Treatment

As we should expect, once the recently released hostages are read to talk, the stories they tell will make your blood boil. One hostage went on the record as we read in an article from Israel National News:

In a detailed account aired on Monday by Channel 12, Israeli captivity survivor Alon Ohel described months of brutality, deprivation, and resilience during his captivity in Gaza. Ohel, 22, recounted his determination to survive from the moment he was abducted, saying he held onto an inner belief that he would return home.

In a graphic interview, Ohel recounted how he made it through:

"I knew I would come back to my mother in the end," he recalled.

He also got sage advice from another hostage:

Ohel said that despite the constant physical and emotional strain, he clung to his sense of choice. "In Gaza, they took away my freedom of movement, freedom and liberty, but not my ability to choose," he said. He recalled advice from fellow hostage Eli Sharabi, who became a father figure to him: "To break is okay, but never lose hope."

He describe the actual day of the attack and his eventual capture:

Ohel recounted fleeing the Nova music festival as rockets began to fall. "We thought it would end, but then we heard Kalashnikovs. You just wait for your death," he said. He described witnessing fellow Israeli Aner Shapira throw grenades out of a shelter until he was killed. Ohel believes one of the explosions caused the injury to his eye.

He couldn’t believe it was all happening at first:

Forced into a vehicle and taken across the border, he recalled the shock of suddenly finding himself in Gaza. "They threw me like a sack of potatoes into a truck… I said to myself: 'Am I dreaming?'"

Ohel then elaborated on what happened next:

Ohel said he and other hostages were taken to a hospital and then to a house where they were stitched without anesthesia and forbidden to speak. "They tore me from reality and put me in hell," he said. He described months of starvation and confinement: "Chained like an animal, eating like a dog. You’re not a person there."

Like so many others, he was essentially starved:

He recounted surviving on minimal food. "We ate a pita and four spoons of peas a day. Sometimes, only dry dates. You look at yourself and see a corpse."

A Close Bond

Ohel developed a bond with another hostage as alluded to earlier. This bond helped him to fight to live as the captivity dragged on:

Ohel described forming a close bond with fellow hostage Eli Sharabi. "From the first moment, we connected," he said. When he injured his hand in frustration, "Eli hugged me, it was a father’s hug." Ohel said they promised each other to stay alive for their families.

Although the Hamas terrorists didn’t intend to make life easier for the pair, being bound together helped them over and over again:

The two were at times chained together. "We did everything together," he said, describing how they endured bombings and relocations from one tunnel to another.

Unfortunately the good news for others released before him turned out to start his days of being alone. It also meant personal attention by the guards and not the good kind:

Ohel said he was eventually separated during a hostage exchange phase. "All my fears came true," he said. After Sharabi and others were taken, he was left alone. He described increased threats from guards, including sexual harassment. "He came to wash me in the shower… he touched me," Ohel said. "Luckily, it didn’t go further."

Other accounts I read gave more details which I won’t add here. Suffice it to say the degrading torture was intentional and was meant to break him. Ohel was mentally strong enough to survive until he was released:

He said the captors later improved his food supply after negotiations stalled, fearing negative publicity. They gave him an English copy of Harry Potter. "I skipped the last chapter. I told myself: 'This is not my end.'"

Other released hostages describe similar sexual assaults so Ohel wasn’t alone in that. Predictably Hamas denies they ever happened but too many others told the same stories. It is high time these barbarians receive the judgment due them. As we pray for the peace of Jerusalem remember to lift up all the previously released hostages as their mental recovery will no doubt last longer than their physical recovery.