A 12-year-old boy freed from Hamas custody late last month said the terrorists told him that Israel had been destroyed in the October 7 attack and also lied about his mother being held hostage.
Eitan Yahalomi recalled how he did not know what happened to his family for more than a month in detention in Gaza — even though the terrorists falsely told him that his mother, who had returned to Israel, was also being held there.
“Sometimes they will tell me that they will take me to be with him, and I have hope,” he told Ynet News.
“I imagined what had happened [my family] and try to talk to them inside my head. I’m afraid maybe something has happened to them.
“The terrorists told me that the kibbutz no longer exists and the state of Israel does not exist,” explained Eitan.
Eitan was dragged from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz during a surprise Hamas attack and forced onto a motorcycle headed for Gaza, where he was held until late November, when he was released as part of a week-long ceasefire.
Her mother and two sisters were also placed on another motorcycle, but as it approached the Gaza Strip, it came into contact with an Israeli tank — forcing the would-be kidnappers to flee as the mother and children fled back to Israel.
Eitan’s father, Ohad, was wounded in the attack, and remains a hostage.
Eitan Yahalomi, 12, who was released from Hamas custody late last month, has shared his horror. via REUTERS
The young man also spoke about what he had to endure for more than a month.
He said when he first arrived in the Gaza Strip, local Palestinian civilians beat him and other hostages in the middle of the road.
“That was a scary experience,” Eitan admitted.
At first, she said, she was kept in solitary, which she described as “very bad, scary.
“I sat on the bed all the time, that’s all I did,” Yahalomi recounted, noting that a guard watching him wouldn’t let him move except to use the bathroom.
He was only allowed to listen to the radio, and said “it was nice to hear things in Hebrew.”
Yahalomi was dragged from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz during a surprise Hamas attack and his father was injured. Both will be held hostage by terrorists. AFP via Getty Images
After some time, Eitan said, he was transferred to another location where there were other hostages – and “met a good friend from the kibbutz.”
Together, they pass the time by using the limited resources available to them to make cards and paint themselves.
Eitan also kept a journal, in which he described the days when he was moved to another room as “special days.”
He added that he sometimes had to wait six to seven hours until he was fed pita and pickles, or rice which he described as “disgusting.”
The boy said he tried to get rid of his taste and hunger by daydreaming about food at home.
Eitan said he was told his mother had been taken hostage and that the state of Israel had been destroyed. via REUTERS
His aunt, Deborah Cohen, previously said Eitan was forced to watch graphic footage of Hamas massacres in Israel.
“Whenever children cry there, they threaten them with guns to make them shut up. As soon as they got to Gaza, all the civilians, everyone beat them,” he said in an interview with France’s BFM TV channel.
“We’re talking about a 12-year-old,” he added.
At the time the terrorist told him he would be released on November 26, Eitan said, he “didn’t fully believe it was going to happen.”
He said he only found out his mother was not a hostage when he returned home the next day and was told he was waiting for her.
“I was happy and I asked how he was here,” he said.
The boy said he only found out his mother was not a hostage when he returned home on November 27 and was told she was waiting for him. Israeli Army/AFP via Getty Images
Now, Eitan said, he has concerns about his father.
He stated that while he was being held in custody, he could hear explosions from bombs falling as the Israel Defense Forces launched their attacks.
“It was really scary,” Eitan said. “I think so [Dad] can also hear them and maybe that scares him too.”
“He needs to come back as soon as possible. He and all the others must be brought back.”
There are still 129 hostages in the Gaza Strip, although not all are believed to be alive.
Hamas officials said they were ready to discuss another prisoner swap that would see more than 100 Israeli hostages released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
But a Hamas official said that even a new prisoner exchange would only take place once Israel had withdrawn from war-torn Gaza, as the terror group rejected a proposed Egyptian-led ceasefire with Israel that would have seen the militants relinquish power in return for ending it. to war
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
