E-Paper
Went through hell, says 85-year-old Israeli hostage released by Hamas
Israel-Hamas War: This comes as Israel said that it had killed dozens of Hamas fighters overnight in strikes on Gaza.
An elderly Israeli hostage who was released by Hamas overnight said that she was taken into tunnels inside Gaza which looked like ‘spiderwebs’, as per news agency Reuters. Asserting that the Israeli military did not take Hamas threat “seriously”, Yocheved Lifshitz said that the terror group “treated us gently and met all our needs.”
Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, was one of two women freed late Monday, leaving around 220 hostages still in the hands of Hamas. Seated in a wheelchair, a frail looking Yocheved Lifshitz said that she was taken into Gaza on October 7, but was then well-treated during her two-week captivity.
"It was difficult, but we will get through this," she said, recounting her experience. Sitting alongside her daughter, Yocheved Lifshitz described how she was captured by Hamas.
"I was kidnapped on a motorbike on my side while they were driving toward Gaza," she said while her daughter explained how her mother's head lay on one side of the motorbike while her feet dangled from the other.
"It was a painful act. They brought us into a gate. I was lying on the side on the motorbike. I got bruises because of the drive," Yocheved Lifshitz added.
Watch: Joe Biden ‘accidentally’ calls for Israel-Hamas ceasefire, walks off confused
This comes as Israel said that it had killed dozens of Hamas fighters overnight in strikes on Gaza, indicating that it had no intention of easing its bombardment of the Palestinian enclave. The United States urged Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, trapped in a humanitarian crisis after two weeks of intense Israeli attacks.
Israel’s military said that there are “long weeks of fighting ahead,” though it wouldn’t say if a ground invasion of Gaza is imminent as there are growing calls in the country to rethink the scope of any such action, amid concern over the fate of hostages and the threat of Hezbollah's attack.
