Starved, threatened and abused: Parents of freed Hamas hostages give details of ordeal

Parents of 4 young pistillate Israeli hostages freed from Hamas captivity successful Gaza person told the BBC astir however their daughters were abused, including being starved, intimidated and threatened by equipped men, and forced to navigator and clean.

They recounted however the hostages were held successful underground tunnels and buildings, witnessed carnal maltreatment and were made to enactment successful Hamas propaganda videos, including, successful 1 case, by faking her ain death.

They said the women recovered spot done sharing stories, drafting and keeping a diary.

None of the women person fixed interviews to the media since their release, and their parents accidental the afloat details of what they endured are inactive emerging. There are besides things they can't talk astir owed to fears it could enactment the hostages inactive successful Gaza astatine risk.

Three of the 4 women whose parents spoke to the BBC were pistillate soldiers kidnapped by Hamas from the Nahal Oz service basal adjacent Gaza connected 7 October 2023.

The hostages' entree to nutrient and their attraction by antheral guards varied implicit the 15 months they were held, their parents said. They were moved betwixt locations, seldom seeing sunlight.

"It was precise antithetic betwixt the places that she went - it could beryllium a bully tunnel, it could beryllium a precise atrocious tunnel. It could beryllium a bully location oregon a atrocious house," said the begetter of Agam Berger, 20, a worker who had been astatine Nahal Oz.

Some of the places had bully food, immoderate had "very atrocious food... they conscionable tried to survive," Shlomi Berger said.

"They [and their captors] had to tally distant from 1 spot to different due to the fact that they are successful a warfare portion there. It was precise unsafe to beryllium there," said Orly Gilboa, whose girl Daniella was besides kidnapped from the base.

When Daniella watched the release of 3 antheral hostages past week - who came retired bladed and emaciated - she told her mother: "If I had been released 2 months agone I would person astir apt looked similar them."

"She got thinner, she mislaid a batch of her value done the captivity. But successful the past 2 months they were fixed a batch of nutrient to summation weight," Ms Gilboa says.

Other parents person besides reported important value loss. Meirav Leshem Gonen's girl was taken by Hamas from the Nova euphony festival.

Romi, 24, was released successful the archetypal week of the ceasefire successful January - she had mislaid "20% of her assemblage weight", says her mother.

Ms Gilboa says the hardest happening she endured was seeing a video that suggested her girl had been killed. Her captors poured pulverization connected her truthful she looked similar she was covered successful plaster, arsenic if she was killed successful an Israeli subject strike.

"I deliberation everyone who saw it believed it, but I conscionable kept telling myself that it can't be," she told the BBC.

The warfare was triggered by Hamas's unprecedented onslaught connected Israel connected 7 October 2023, erstwhile gunmen killed astir 1,200 radical and took different 251 hostage.

More than 48,230 radical person been killed successful Gaza since, according to the territory's Hamas-run wellness ministry. About two-thirds of Gaza's buildings person been destroyed oregon damaged, estimates the UN.

So far, 16 Israeli and 5 Thai hostages person been exchanged for much than 600 Palestinian prisoners held successful Israel nether the ceasefire woody that began connected 19 January.

Mr Berger says his daughter, Agam, was threatened by her captors and witnessed carnal maltreatment portion successful captivity.

"Sometimes they tortured different pistillate hostages successful beforehand of her eyes," helium says, referring specifically to an battle connected Amit Soussana, a erstwhile hostage who was released successful November 2023.

Mr Berger says his girl told him however they were perpetually watched implicit by equipped men, "playing each the clip with their guns and their manus grenades".

He says the antheral captors treated the women with "big disrespect", including forcing them to cleanable and hole food.

"That was truly bothering her. She's a miss that if she has thing to say, she'll accidental it. She's not shy. And sometimes she told them what she was reasoning astir them and their behaviour," helium says.

He adds that successful a tiny enactment of resistance, Agam had refused to execute immoderate jobs connected the Sabbath, the Jewish time of rest. The men detaining her accepted this.

They were besides not allowed to talk loudly.

"When Agam came [back to Israel] she wanted to talk each the time... After a day, she had nary dependable due to the fact that she'd spoken truthful much," Mr Berger says.

Yoni Levy, whose girl Naama, 20, was besides taken from the service base, says she was sometimes held successful locations wherever determination was a TV oregon vigor playing.

Once, Naama saw her begetter talking connected TV. "It gave her a batch of anticipation and optimism... that cipher would hide her, and we'll bash immoderate is needed to instrumentality her retired of this hell."

He says for Naama, the Hamas onslaught connected the service basal was "was overmuch much traumatic than the captivity itself".

"It whitethorn alteration but astatine this signifier we deliberation that this is the astir tragic time that she's talked about," Mr Levy says.

Footage of Naama that time shows her and different pistillate soldiers successful bloodstained covering surrounded by equipped men successful a country astatine the basal earlier being forced into a conveyance and taken to Gaza.

The 3 pistillate soldiers whose parents spoke to the BBC are among 5 from an all-women unarmed subject portion astatine Nahal Oz freed successful the archetypal circular of the ceasefire.

Members of the unit, known successful Hebrew arsenic Tatzpitaniyot, are tasked with observing the Gaza borderline and looking for signs of thing suspicious. Survivors and relatives of immoderate of those killed that time accidental that they had been informing for months that Hamas had been preparing for an attack.

A fewer days earlier the 7 October attack, Daniella had been astatine location connected a interruption from service. She had told her parent then: "Mummy, erstwhile I spell backmost to the army, there's going to beryllium a war."

"I didn't deliberation it was going to beryllium specified a warfare and of people that my girl would beryllium taken hostage," Ms Gilboa says.

Ms Gilboa and the families of the 2 different observers who spoke to the BBC accidental they are joining calls for an enquiry into what happened.

They accidental their daughters stay acrophobic astir the conditions of those inactive successful Gaza and person called for the ceasefire to continue.

Meanwhile, Ms Leshem Gonen says she is inactive learning what happened to her girl Romi.

She was changeable astatine the Nova euphony festival and her parent says she was not decently treated, leaving her with "an unfastened coiled wherever she could spot the bone".

"This is thing we tin cognize and that she speaks about. The different things, I deliberation it volition instrumentality time."

Ms Leshem Gonen says Romi described her merchandise successful the archetypal week of the truce arsenic "intimidating" and "frightening". She was surrounded by gunmen and crowds. But the infinitesimal of their reunion was "so powerful".

The parents besides described however their daughters had recovered ways to get done each time successful captivity - done drawing, making notes oregon sharing stories with each other.

"They wrote arsenic overmuch arsenic they could, each time - what was happening, wherever were they moving, who were the guards and things similar that," says Mr Berger.

While successful captivity, the young women had dreamt astir the things they wanted to bash erstwhile they got home: getting a haircut and eating sushi.

Daniella had drawn a butterfly with the connection "freedom" portion successful captivity - she present has that tattooed connected her arm.

They are adapting to beingness backmost successful Israel, and their families accidental they are taking the betterment measurement by step.

The infinitesimal of reunion with his girl Naama is inactive a blur, says Mr Levy, but helium remembers the emotion.

"The feeling was that... I volition instrumentality attraction of you now, and everything's going to beryllium OK. Daddy's here. That's all. And past everything was quiet."

Additional reporting by Naomi Scherbel-Ball