‘These are the ones who can get pregnant’: Released hostages share gruesome details about their Hamas captivity
JERUSALEM – Details of the appalling conditions in which the released female IDF spotters were kept began to emerge Tuesday, as the military permitted a slow drip of certain information relating to their treatment at the hands of their kidnappers.
On Monday, an Israeli general said some of the hostages released from Gaza had been held in Hamas tunnels for up to eight months straight, deprived of daylight, and with little to no human contact during that period. The deputy chief of the Israeli military’s medical corps, Col. Dr. Avi Banov said those who had been kept with others were in better – although this is relative – shape than those who were kept in solitary confinement.
They had little to no human contact and showed signs of ‘mild starvation’; Hostages said their treatment improved in the days leading up to their release including more food and showers
— Avraham Israeli Zionist (@IsraeliAvraham) January 27, 2025
The Israeli military oversees the initial health assessments of the released hostages.
All the former captives reported an improvement in their conditions in the days leading up to their release, such as more frequent showers, changes of clothes, and provided with more and better food.
Banov noted, however, some hostages had not received adequate care for wounds sustained on Oct. 7 during the Hamas attack, while a few showed signs of “mild starvation.” Emily Damari lost two fingers as a result of being shot in the hand, while Danielle Gilboa still has a bullet in her leg, which is due for removal in the near future.
The three civilian women released on the first day of the ceasefire on Jan 19. were discharged from Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv on Sunday, while the four female soldiers freed on Saturday are still receiving medical care at the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikvah – a city in central Israel.
Since their release on Saturday, the IDF spotters have apparently been telling their families in some detail about their ordeal, out of a sense they need to express their experiences with their loved ones to help them process. It is said they were aware of the magnitude of Oct. 7, because they witnessed the scale of the attack and were abducted relatively late on. They acknowledged their being in the shelter and watching friends be murdered and slowly dying had a profound effect on them.
Banov said out of respect for the hostages’ privacy he would not discuss whether any of the seven former captives released within the last 10 days or so bore any signs of torture or abuse. There was particular concern for the female soldiers as at the time of their capture, the terrorists who abducted them were heard to say, “these are the ones who can get pregnant.”
“Here, these are the girls who can get pregnant.”
This is video footage depicting the horrific kidnapping of 5 female Israeli hostages: Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniela Gilboa and Naama Levy.
They have been held hostage by Hamas terrorists for more than 230 days… pic.twitter.com/zFo9eB77uC
— Israel ישראל (@Israel) May 22, 2024
Two women – Arbel Yahoud and Agam Berger, a civilian and the final female IDF spotter – are due to be released Thursday with another unnamed man. A further three are abductees are due to be released on Saturday. Their names have yet to be released.