Monday, October 6, 2025
26.1 C
New Delhi

‘Treated like animals’: Hamas’s first Israeli hostage recalls 505 days of captivity in Gaza

Nearly two years after Hamas’s deadly assault on southern Israel, survivor Tal Shoham says his home of Kibbutz Be’eri still feels like a “vast graveyard,” haunted by the horrors of October 7, 2023, the day he and his family were kidnapped by militants. Standing among the ruins of what was once a peaceful community, he says the scars of that morning are impossible to escape. Despite US President Donald Trump’s renewed push for an Israeli-Hamas peace deal under his proposed Gaza plan, Shoham admits he struggles to see any reason for optimism about the future.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD

“All this neighbourhood that once was so peaceful and beautiful, you know, all destroyed. It’s like the evil things that they did here, that the terrorists did here, is like covering everything here,” Shoham said.

Hamas gunmen seized Shoham, his wife Adi, and their two children during the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust. He spent 505 days in captivity in Gaza, a period he recalls for both the cruelty of his captors and the courage of fellow hostages still held there. Shoham was freed in a truce in February this year.

The October assault saw Hamas-led militants breach border defences and drag Shoham and around 250 others into Gaza, in an attack that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures. Israel’s military response has since killed more than 67,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health authorities.

‘We were treated like animals’: Life underground in captivity

Shoham doubts that long-term peace is possible, even after Israel’s military strikes on Iran’s leadership and its regional allies, Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Yemen’s Houthis, and armed groups in Syria. During his captivity, he concluded that the depth of anti-Israeli hatred leaves little hope for coexistence. “After I saw the magnitude of hatred that they grew up upon and they are growing their children upon, it’s really clear that at least in our generation it won’t be possible,” he said.

He spent the first eight months of his imprisonment above ground before being moved in June last year, disguised and escorted through Gaza’s streets for about 15 minutes before being blindfolded and led into a tunnel. There, he was placed in a cramped underground chamber alongside another hostage, Omer Wenkert. “We were going to stay in the tunnel 20 or 30 meters underground, in this tomb, for eternity,” he recalled.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD

The cell was narrow, with concrete walls, a sandy floor, four mattresses, and a hole for a toilet. The air was thick, making it difficult to breathe. “We were treated like animals. I mean, even animals won’t be kept in such inhumane conditions, but this is the way they treated us,” Shoham said.

The hostages suffered beatings and psychological torment, sometimes being told they had to decide who among them would be executed next. Two of Shoham’s fellow captives, Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David, remain in Gaza. Footage of David released in August, showing him emaciated, sparked outrage in Israel and abroad. “And I’m really afraid for their lives. You know, there are 20 living hostages still in Gaza in the hands of those animals,” Shoham said.

Shoham was the first to be taken from his home, dragged through the window of a safe room, and forced into a car boot before being transported to Gaza. It was more than a month before he learned that his wife, children, mother-in-law, and relatives had also been abducted, and that his father-in-law, Avshalom, had been killed. His wife and children were freed in the first hostage deal in late 2023; he was released in the second, in February 2025.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD

Standing again in the burned remains of the room where his ordeal began, Shoham remembers his then eight-year-old son asking if everyone was going to die as gunfire shattered the bulletproof glass. “Now, I knew that he cannot hurt me yet, but after a few bullets he will reach a hole in the window and then we will need to surrender because it’s game over for us,” he said. “He would be able to throw grenades inside and to put his Kalashnikov in this hole and just shoot us all.”

As Hamas militants marched him through the streets, he saw two bodies of people he knew, executed with shots to the head, before being thrown into a car and taken to Gaza.

End of Article

Go to Source

Hot this week

‘ChatGPT Is Down And I’m Forced To Use My Own Brain’, Netizens Go Meme Crazy On X

Looks like ChatGPT decided to take a tiny nap, leaving hundreds of users staring at blank screens. According to Downdetector, over 700 people reported issues worldwide, from India to the US, UK, and Australia. Read More

Oil Prices Rise After OPEC+ Opts For Smaller Output Hike For November

Show Quick Read Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom Oil prices rose by around 1 per cent on Monday, following a modest production hike announced by OPEC+ for November. Read More

Indian Players Set To Feature In Lanka Premier League For The First Time

New Delhi: The organisers of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) on Monday announced that Indian cricketers will feature in the tournament for the first time when its sixth edition begins on December 1. Read More

BJP MP Khagen Murmu Injured During Stone Attack In Jalpaiguri | ABP News

In a shocking incident on Monday, BJP MP Khagen Murmu from Bengal’s Maldaha Uttar constituency was seriously injured during an attack in flood-hit Jalpaiguri. Read More

Maharashtra: Train Catches Fire In Nanded, Reason Remains Unclear | ABP News

In Nanded, Maharashtra, a train bogie’s wheel caught fire, generating smoke that prompted passengers to flee until railway staff arrived and extinguished the blaze; no injuries were reported. Read More

Topics

‘ChatGPT Is Down And I’m Forced To Use My Own Brain’, Netizens Go Meme Crazy On X

Looks like ChatGPT decided to take a tiny nap, leaving hundreds of users staring at blank screens. According to Downdetector, over 700 people reported issues worldwide, from India to the US, UK, and Australia. Read More

Oil Prices Rise After OPEC+ Opts For Smaller Output Hike For November

Show Quick Read Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom Oil prices rose by around 1 per cent on Monday, following a modest production hike announced by OPEC+ for November. Read More

Indian Players Set To Feature In Lanka Premier League For The First Time

New Delhi: The organisers of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) on Monday announced that Indian cricketers will feature in the tournament for the first time when its sixth edition begins on December 1. Read More

BJP MP Khagen Murmu Injured During Stone Attack In Jalpaiguri | ABP News

In a shocking incident on Monday, BJP MP Khagen Murmu from Bengal’s Maldaha Uttar constituency was seriously injured during an attack in flood-hit Jalpaiguri. Read More

Maharashtra: Train Catches Fire In Nanded, Reason Remains Unclear | ABP News

In Nanded, Maharashtra, a train bogie’s wheel caught fire, generating smoke that prompted passengers to flee until railway staff arrived and extinguished the blaze; no injuries were reported. Read More

Fear Grips Locality as Two Injured in Jackal Attack

Fear Grips Locality as Two Injured in Jackal Attack  Go to Source Read More

Hyderabad Cops Begin Probe As Foreign Tourist ‘Verbally Harassed’ Near Charminar

Show Quick Read Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom An old video showing a foreign woman tourist being “verbally harassed” by a youth near the historic Charminar here has gone viral, prompting a police investigati Read More

Pawan Singh’s Wife Jyoti Singh Appeals for Justice with Clasped hands

Pawan Singh’s Wife Jyoti Singh Appeals for Justice with Clasped hands   Go to Source Read More

Related Articles