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Doctor Treating 4 Rescued Israeli Hostages Says They Endured ‘A Lot Of Abuse, Almost Every Day’
The four recently rescued Israeli hostages embracing loved ones, Ramat Gan, June 8, 2024. Photo: Israeli Army/Handout via Reuters
The doctor treating the four Israeli hostages who were rescued from Gaza over the weekend said they were abused in captivity “nearly every day.”
Dr. Itai Pessach, who works for Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv and is overseeing the treatment of the four rescued hostages, told CNN their time in captivity “left a significant mark on their health” despite looking normal externally.
“There have been periods where they got almost no food whatsoever,” he said. “They had no protein, so their muscles are extremely wasted, there is damage to some other systems because of that.”
According to initial assessments by Israel’s Health Ministry, the average hostage who was released during November’s temporary ceasefire and hostage deal lost between 17 and 33 pounds in just seven weeks.
“It was a harsh, harsh, experience, with a lot of abuse, almost every day,” Pessach added. ”Every hour, both physical, mental, and other types, and that is something that is beyond comprehension.”
This, combined with “medical neglect, being limited to space, not seeing the sun, and all of the other things, have [a] significant effect on health,” he said.
Further explaining the mental health aspect of being held hostage for such a long time, Pessach explained, “As time passes, hope of being released kind of decreases and you start wondering if this would ever end … losing that faith, I think, is where you get to the breaking point.”
Noa Argamani, Shlomi Ziv, Almog Meir Jan, and Andrey Kozlov were rescued from Hamas captivity on Saturday in a complex and dangerous mission taken on by the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) elite “Yamam” National Counter-Terrorism Unit. It specializes in hostage rescue missions and raids against enemy combatants in civilian areas.
In the raid, Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora was killed by Hamas terrorists and other Palestinians in the area after they opened fire on the IDF while trying to rescue the hostages. The mission was renamed “Operation Arnon” in honor of his sacrifice. The IDF called Zamora “a hero of Israel, a lover of the land and a protector.”
Previously released hostages have later detailed the abuse they faced while in Hamas’ hands.
In april, former hostages held by Hamas in Gaza recounted harrowing tales of sexual harassment and abuse in an emotional hearing at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
“As hard as it is to say, every girl there goes through sexual harassment one way or another,” said Mia Regev, who was freed in November after 50 days in captivity. Fighting back tears, she urged lawmakers to take action, saying, “Your job is to bring them back home.”
Days earlier, Amit Soussana, 40, from Kfar Aza, who was kidnapped on Oct. 7 and released as a part of the temporary ceasefire agreement, told the New York Times that she was sexually assaulted while a hostage.
She said one of her captors forced her to perform a “sexual act on him” while being held at gunpoint.
“He sat me on the edge of the bath. And I closed my legs. And I resisted. And he kept punching me and put his gun in my face,” Soussana recounted. “Then he dragged me to the bedroom.”
A family member of 12-year-old freed hostage Eitan Yahalom detailed the abuse he faced during his 52 days being held by Hamas.
“Whenever a child hostage cried, the terrorists would threaten them with rifles to silence them,” the family member said. “Perhaps I was naïve, but I wanted to hope that they were treating him well. I was wrong. They are monsters.”
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists abducted over 250 people during their Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel. There are currently over 100 hostages still in Gaza.
The post Doctor Treating 4 Rescued Israeli Hostages Says They Endured ‘A Lot Of Abuse, Almost Every Day’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.