At the headquarters of the Israeli Forum for Hostages and Missing Persons Families, there is no respite. Hundreds of volunteers, lawyers, doctors, and psychologists, are constantly working to help families in every possible way. The last few days in particular have been highly charged with the release of some 100 hostages who have been in the hands of Hamas since 7 October.
Liat Bell Sommer, spokesperson for the Hostage and Missing Persons Families Forum, speaking to Phileleftheros, explained how joyful the moments were when hostages were finally breathing an air of freedom, while at the same time, how painful it was knowing that many others were still being held. “Every extra day in captivity means even greater mortal danger for the hostages. It is something their families cannot bear,” she pointed out.
She noted that the drama for the hostages was not only their captivity. It started from the moment Hamas attacked Israel. She described young children seeing their parents murdered, husbands seeing their wives raped, only to end up captive for weeks in the tunnels of the terrorist organization. There they were beaten, tortured and had no contact with their families.
The fight will not stop, explained Liat Bell Sommer, until all the hostages are returned to their homes alive. Until that happens, efforts are focused on those who have already been reunited with their families. With medical and psychological support, they need to find a way to somehow get back to the lives they had. However, the road to recovery is long and difficult. “None of these hostages will be as they were before October 7. Neither will their families. Not even the citizens of the State of Israel themselves,” he concluded.
The return of around 100 hostages brought joy to the families and Israeli society. What will happen to the hostages who were not released? In what way will they return to their homes?
The Families Headquarters is doing everything and acting through all possible avenues to bring back all the hostages – alive – and as soon as possible.
What kind of treatment did the hostages have during their captivity? Were they divided into groups, and could they communicate with each other? Regarding the children, were they together with members of their families? Were they protected in any way?
The nightmare began on October 7th when people were kidnapped from their beds in pyjamas at the crack of dawn. Parents were murdered before their children’s eyes, who were left orphaned and then kidnapped to Gaza. Husbands were kidnapped after watching their wives raped and murdered. Families were cruelly kidnapped to Gaza as they watched their homes burning from afar and their neighbours’ bodies scattered on the kibbutz paths.
The hostages experienced unimaginable abuse and cruelty during their captivity in Gaza – they were beaten with electrical cables, burned with motorcycle exhaust pipes, and deprived of food, medications, and sunlight. They spent weeks underground. There were children whom the terrorists threatened at gunpoint to watch horrific footage filmed on October 7th. Children were separated from their parents.
How were families informed that their loved ones were going to be released? Was there any preparation for the reunion?
Government officials contact the families. it is an extremely stressful moment, there are families who receive the happiest news in the world and there are families who receive the tragic news that their loved ones are not coming back that day. These are also very tense hours for both the hostages and their families – as no one knows what might go wrong during the day.
And what happened to the families of those who wouldn’t be released? Did they have any support or help, knowing that others would soon see their loved ones while they wouldn’t?
Knowing their family members are in Hamas tunnels, in need of medical attention, experiencing horrors and severe violence and starvation – this knowledge greatly burdens the families. Every additional day in captivity poses a mortal danger to the hostages. This knowledge is unbearable for families. The Families Headquarters provides psychological and medical support 24/7 for families – but nothing will alleviate this distress until their loved ones return home.
Did the families or the Israeli authorities have any communication with the hostages during their captivity? Did they have any information on whether they were alive or dead?
There is no communication whatsoever with the hostages – families have no idea about their condition or fate. They do not know if their loved ones are injured, sick, or even alive. Nearly two months have passed, and the Red Cross has not bothered to enter, examine, and treat injured and ill hostages, nor relay any information about their physical and mental state back to their families back home.
Being hostages for almost two months must be a very traumatic experience and I am not sure if experience is the right word. How will the hostages manage to return to the lives they had? Do you believe it’s possible for them to leave the trauma behind?
From the testimonies of hostages who have been released from Hamas captivity, there are difficult physical and psychological effects – the released hostages will have to undergo years of rehabilitation, after painful surgeries and emotional treatments no less painful. There is a girl who returned from captivity who speaks only in whispers because she was threatened in Hamas captivity with weapons not to speak loudly. There is another girl who has not come out from her hiding place under her bed since returning from captivity. There are released hostages who are still hospitalized, and it will take much more time until they are released to their homes.
None of these hostages will go back to being what they were before October 7. Neither will their families. Nor will the citizens of the State of Israel.