One of two elderly Israeli hostages freed by Hamas terrorists late Monday turned around to pray for peace for his captors – who he said were “friendly in their own way” even though they put him “through hell.”
Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, is seen returning to one of the masked gunmen who handed him over to Red Cross workers at Gazah’s Rafah Crossing more than two weeks after he was abducted during a slaughter at his kibbutz, beaten and then taken through a “spider web” of tunnels by his captors.
Video of the exchange shows him extending his hand and saying “shalom,” the Hebrew word for “peace” also often used to say goodbye.
Asked at a press conference Tuesday why he took the terrorist’s hand, Lifshitz graciously claimed that “they were gentle with us, our needs were provided” in captivity — even as he described the horror he experienced when he was beaten and taken to Gaza.
“They are friendly in their way,” he said.
“They make sure we eat the food they eat: white cheese and cucumber – that’s an all-day meal.”
Lifshitz, one of the two freed hostages, spoke to the media with family by his side.Ron Haviv/VII/Redux He was beaten and kidnapped during the slaughter in his kibbutz.Ron Haviv/VII/Redux
But Lifshitz said he will long be tormented by the horrors he experienced.
“I’ve been through hell,” he said from a wheelchair in a Tel Aviv hospital where he is recovering.
“They’ve been preparing for this, they’ve been preparing for a very long time,” Lifshitz said of the violent terrorist group.
“We never thought we would reach such a state,” Lifshitz, who was born in Israel in 1938, said of what he experienced on October 7.
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He told how a “herd” of terrorists broke through a 2.5 billion shekel (about $615 million) security gate and “invaded our house.”
“They ran amok in our kibbutz,” he said.
“They hit people,” Lifshitz recounted at the press conference. “They don’t care about kidnapping [the] elderly and children. It was very painful.”
Lifshitz was released by Hamas along with Nurit Cooper, 79. Both their husbands remain in custody. via REUTERS Lifshitz said her captors beat her with a stick. Ron Haviv/VII/Redux
Lifshitz said he had been pulled onto a motorcycle, with his head on one side and his legs hanging over the other.
As they traveled, Lifshitz said, terrorists hit him with sticks.
“When I ride a bike, my legs are on one side and my whole body is on the other side. The young man hit me on the way,” he said.
“They didn’t break my limbs, but it hurt me a lot.”
Upon arriving at the vast network of tunnels used by Hamas in Gaza, Lifshitz said, they walked several kilometers on wet ground before arriving at a large hall where about 25 other hostages were being held.
Lifshitz spoke about what he experienced at a press conference at the Tel Aviv hospital where he was treated. Getty Images Lifshitz said a doctor came every few days to check on him and the other hostages. AP
After several hours, five of them from the kibbutz were taken to a separate room with guards standing outside.
“When we got there, they told us that they believed in the Koran and would give us the same conditions as they had,” Lifshitz said, noting that a doctor came every two to three days to check on the hostages, and a paramedics are also present. the scene to give them medicine – and to make sure they don’t get infections from their injuries.
“They clean the toilets, not us,” he said. “They are afraid of contagion.”
He said the terrorists tried to start a conversation with them about the political situation.
“We told [them]’No politics,’ ” Lifshitz said.
“They take care of the wounded,” added the old woman.
Lifshitz said the terrorists were “friendly in their own way.” AP The hostages had no obvious physical injuries upon arrival. Getty Images
He said he always “had that image in my mind.”
Lifshitz was finally released from custody Monday night, along with his neighbor Nurit Cooper, 79.
Abu Ubaiba, a military spokesman from the Al-Qassam Brigades operating in the West Bank, claimed that Hamas was willing to release the two women despite Israel’s refusal to stop its airstrikes against the terrorist group.
“We have decided to release them on humanitarian and satisfactory grounds even though the occupation has committed more than 8 violations of the procedures that have been agreed with the mediators that the occupation will comply with today to complete the handover process,” the spokesperson said. said on Telegram.
Lifshitz said he was pulled onto a motorcycle, with his head on one side and his legs dangling from the other.Ron Haviv/VII/Redux
The elderly woman was later seen in footage released by Hamas being escorted to the border, with terrorists apparently offering them water.
In another clip, Yocheved can be seen crawling out of the back of a white truck, before walking towards an ambulance with the help of two officers.
Meanwhile, Nurit was seen lying and wheeled in an ambulance stretcher.
Both women appeared to have no obvious physical injuries as they were examined and monitored by Red Cross staff.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
