‘Polite, wanted to talk politics’: The shocking stories of Hamas revealed by freed hostage

On Monday night, the family of Yocheved Lifshitz and the world heaved a sigh of relief when Hamas militants released the 85-year-old hostage, along with 79-year-old Nurit Cooper. The next day (24 October), sitting in a wheelchair at the Tel Aviv hospital, she revealed her entire abduction ordeal as well as shed insight into how and where at least some of the captives are being treated by Hamas. Hamas is holding at least 200 hostages after carrying out the daring but horrific attack on 7 October. Lifshitz , describing her “hell”, also criticised the Israeli government over security lapses. Interestingly, while being released after being held captive for 16 days, Lifshitz was seen shaking hands of a Hamas militant. When asked about this, she told reporters, “Because they treated us very nicely.”

Taken from a kibbutz Lifshitz, a frail 85-year-old grandmother, was taken hostage by Hamas militants on 7 October from her home in the kibbutz of Nir Oz. Her husband was also taken captive and continues to be a captive. The Hamas attacked the kibbutz early in the morning, taking the people by surprise and massacring the small community. A BBC report says that one in four residents were kidnapped or killed, including many children. Describing her capture, she said she was beaten by sticks during the journey into Gaza and struggled with breathing. She was tied to a motorcycle and driven away to Gaza. “As we rode, the motorcycle rider hit me with a wooden pole. They didn’t break my ribs, but it hurt me a lot in that area, making it difficult to breathe. They stole my watch and jewellery.” “I went through hell,” the grandmother said, adding, “They went on a rampage in our kibbutz. They took us and sped off through the ploughed fields.”

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Life in captivity Translating her mother’s ordeal, Sharone Lifshitz said that the Hamas militants forced her to walk for a few kilometres on wet ground after being kidnapped and then taken underground into a “spider web” of tunnels . “We went underground and walked for kilometres (miles) in wet tunnels, for two or three hours in a spider web of tunnels,” she recounted. It was after hours that she along with five others from her kibbutz was taken into a separate room at an undisclosed location. There, they each had a guard and access to a paramedic and doctor. “At the room I was greeted by people who told us we believe in the Quran and promised not to harm me and the other fellow hostages.” They were given mattresses to sleep on and were given the same food – pitas with cream cheese, melted cheese, and cucumbers – as the Hamas fighters. She along with her co-captives also received regular treatment from doctors. “They really took care of the sanitary side of things so that we didn’t get sick,” Lifshitz added. “They treated us well,” she told reporters, saying a doctor visited the hostages every two to three days and provided medicine. “They were very concerned with hygiene and were worried about an outbreak of something. We had toilets which they cleaned every day.” She further noted that the Hamas fighters seemed prepared and had everything that men and women would need. “They even gave us shampoo to wash our hair with,” she added. [caption id=“attachment_13292582” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Lifshitz was released from Hamas captivity after 16 days. She is currently doing well. She revealed that her captors initially beat her, but later treated her kindly. AP[/caption] Asked about her captors and what they spoke, she revealed that they wanted to speak politics, but she refused. “They talked about all kinds of things. They were very friendly to us. They took care of all of our needs; this must be said to their credit.” The Israel Defence Forces (IDF), still gathering vital intelligence as they prepare to respond to the atrocities carried out by Hamas on 7 October, will undoubtedly be hanging onto Lifshitz’s every word. On her release to Red Cross on Monday, she was seen shaking hands with one of the militants and saying “shalom” – the Hebrew word for peace or harmony. When reporters asked her about it, she replied: “They treated us gently, and provided us with all our needs.”

When asked what she meant by the gesture of shaking a Hamas gunman's hand, freed hostage Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, says 'because they treated us very nicely'.

"They seemed really prepared and had concealed it for a long time," she added.

🔗https://t.co/170bCo7ebO

📺 Sky 501 pic.twitter.com/8F4d4wnuED

— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 24, 2023

‘Didn’t take Hamas threats seriously’ The soft-spoken Israeli grandmother also accused the Israeli intelligence and authorities of failing them. CNN quoted her as saying, “The lack of awareness by Shin Bet and the IDF hurt us a lot. Hamas warned us three weeks beforehand, they burned fields, they sent fire balloons and the IDF did not treat it seriously.” Lifshitz said the Israeli border fence of concrete and steel, equipped with hundreds of cameras and sensors, had not helped. “They blew up the fence.” [caption id=“attachment_13292652” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Yocheved Lifshitz, who was held hostage by Hamas militants, is embraced after being released by the militants, in Rafah, Egypt. Reuters[/caption] ‘A win for Hamas’ However, it appears that Lifshitz’s press interaction has invited criticism from some corners given her praise for Hamas. The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation said that PR experts called the decision to put the 85-year-old in front of the cameras as a “mistake”. It noted that international media was now reporting on Hamas’s kindness in taking care of the hostage’s needs. In Israel Hayom, columnist Eddie Rothstein called the interview a “propaganda win for Hamas.” “What a brave and enlightened woman, the kind we thought they no longer make in Israel, and what clumsy handling of the event,” he wrote. “The truth is you don’t need to be a PR expert to know you can’t have a press conference like this live on TV.” Dana Weiss of Channel 12 called the press conference a “disaster,” and noted the lack of state oversight of the event. Hamas claims it has more than 220 hostages in captivity, of which four have been released. Last Friday, two Israeli-American women , Judith and Natalie Raanan were released following Monday’s release of Lifshitz and Cooper. It is believed that the US has asked Israel to delay its ground invasion so that more hostages can be freed. A senior Hamas leader was quoted as telling Sky News that all civilians among the hostages would be released if Israel reduced the intensity of bombing Gaza. “We want to stop the random bombardments, the total destruction, the genocide so that the al Qassam soldiers can take them from their places and hand them to the Red Cross or whoever,” said Khaled Meshaal. With inputs from agencies