Israeli hostages held by Hamas share stories of starvation, torture and survival in Gaza captivity

They emerged thin, pale and blinking in the daylight. The final living twenty Israeli hostages were freed from Gaza after 738 days in captivity.

Some said they had lost track of time; others feared this day would never come. For their families, the reunions were both miraculous and sobering — a reminder of how few had made it out alive.

Evyatar David, 24, had become a symbol of the captives’ despair.

A video released in August showed him, frail and skeletal, digging what he said was his own grave in a Gaza tunnel.

When he finally stepped free, he clasped his hands in the shape of a heart with a faint smile on a face known around the world.

Among the released, Avinatan Or, 32, was reunited with his girlfriend Noa Argamani, who had been rescued in June 2024.

Mr Or, who was held in isolation in the central Gaza Strip, had no idea of the Israeli Defence Forces operation that freed Ms Argamani and three others in June 2024, only learning of it when they were reunited.

Israeli officials say Mr Or suffered severe starvation while held by Hamas, losing between 30 and 40 per cent of his body weight. After two years of uncertainty, his gaunt frame and tired smile told their own story.

The pair were among those seized from the Nova music festival, where hundreds were killed on October 7, 2023.

Emotional photos were captured of the couple, who were once dubbed “Romeo and Juliet” locked in each other’s arms after being cruelly ripped apart two years earlier.

Hostages detail time in captivity

Many of the men held by Hamas said they were fed little or nothing for long stretches, The Australian reported.

“Did they begin feeding you?” Israeli President Isaac Herzog asked the freed hostage Bar Kuperstein.

“During the last four days,” Kuperstein replied.

In some cases, Hamas reportedly began feeding prisoners only days before their release, following international outrage over Mr David’s condition. Others, like Guy Gilboa-Dalal, were force-fed after the video’s release.

Mr Gilboa-Dalal’s father said his son was transferred between tunnel systems, first held with Mr David, then moved to another chamber in Gaza City until both were freed.

For many of Israel’s captured soldiers, the accounts are even more brutal.

Matan Angrest, 22, was dragged injured from his tank near Nahal Oz and held for months in isolation. His mother, Anat Angrest, said he suffered “very severe torture” and long periods under special guard, The Times of Israel shared.

“He was alone for a long period, under special guard,” she said.

“Matan told me he refused to break for the monsters who held him captive.”

She said he endured constant psychological warfare.

“He recalled the heavy IDF bombardments, planes flying above their heads… walls falling next to them, many times finding himself amid dust under the rubble, trying to get above ground and survive.”

Mr Angrest was also told his Holocaust-survivor grandparents were dead — a lie undone when he came home.

His mother said that despite everything, he is in a “reasonable state, at least, mentally.”

Glimpses of humanity

Some hostages described fleeting moments of mercy.

Elkana Bohbot was chained in darkness for months, losing all sense of time. When he realised it was his wedding anniversary, he begged his captor for a shower. The man eventually relented.

Mr Bohbot’s wife, Rebecca, said learning he was alive had sustained her.

“Elkana is home, in Israel, and I can’t believe we’re a family of three again,” she said.

Hostage homecomings and loss

Under the ceasefire deal brokered by the United States, the men were freed in two groups — first seven, then thirteen — and taken to the Re’im military base near the Gaza border for reunions with their families.

As they embraced, a convoy of ambulances carrying the remains of other hostages rolled past. Twenty-eight captives did not survive. Hamas has returned only eight bodies, fuelling concern that others remain in its possession.

Among the families still waiting was Yael Adar, whose son Tamir’s body has not been recovered.

“We need you more than ever,” she wrote.

“The struggle is not over until the last captive returns.”