Freed Israeli hostage says ‘Hamas captors treated us gently, provided all our needs’

One of two freed elderly Israeli hostages, 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz recounted being taken hostage by Hamas fighters after a surprise attack on October 7 and later her release by the captors on Monday.

While talking to the international media outside a Tel Aviv hospital on Tuesday, Yocheved Lifshitz said, “When I was on the bike, my head was on one side and the rest of my body on the other side. The young men hit me on the way. They didn’t break my ribs but it was painful and I had difficulty breathing.”

“They were gentle with us.”

Freed Israeli captive Yocheved Lifshitz on why she shook hands with one of her Hamas captors. pic.twitter.com/KnKZlDNBPa

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 24, 2023

“I’ve been through hell … we didn’t think or know we would get to this situation,” Al-Jazeera quoted the freed Israeli hostage who was seen shaking a Hamas fighter during her release.

Once in Gaza, however, she said her captors “treated her well”, giving her and other captives “the same food they ate” and bringing in a doctor to provide medicine.

“They treated us gently, and provided all our needs,” she said, when questioned about her reason for shaking the hand of one of her captors at the moment of her release.

“They seemed ready for this, they prepared for a long time, they had everything that men and women needed, including shampoo,” she added.

The elderly Israeli woman, who lives in the Nir Oz kibbutz near the Gaza Strip, said Israel’s military had underestimated the threat posed by Hamas, and that the costly security fence “didn’t help at all”.

Yesterday, Hamas released Lifshitz and her neighbor and friend 79-year-old Nurit Cooper on humanitarian grounds. The freed hostages were reunited with family members who rushed to their bedside at Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv.

A Hamas spokesman confirmed the earlier al-Qassam Brigades statement, saying that two Israeli captives – both women – have been released.

“Netanyahu rejected [the release on Friday]. Now he has accepted, maybe under the pressure of the [Israeli] street,” Al Jazeera quoted Osama Hamdan.

“We got nothing [in return for their release]. We released them for humanitarian issues,” he added.

Hamdan said that the release took place even though Israel violated the terms of an agreement that would have guaranteed the safety of the captives.

“We asked to stop bombing Gaza at least for the time to release them, sending them to the Red Cross and then turning them to the authorities. The Israelis did not follow that. It shows you cannot trust the Israeli side,” he said.

A few days ago, Gaza’s Hamas rulers released two Americans on Friday among some 200 hostages they abducted in October 7 attacks in Israel and indicated that more could follow.