TEL AVIV, Oct 24 (Reuters) - An elderly Israeli hostage who was released by Hamas overnight said she had been beaten by the militants when she was abducted and taken to Gaza on Oct. 7, but was then treated well during her two-week captivity in the Palestinian enclave.
Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, was one of two women freed late on Monday, leaving around 220 hostages still in the hands of Hamas, including both of their husbands.
"I've been through hell," Lifshitz told reporters, speaking in barely a whisper and seated in a wheelchair outside the Tel Aviv hospital, where she was taken following her release.
Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, an Israeli grandmother who was held hostage in Gaza, speaks to members of the press after being released by Hamas militants, at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, Israel October 24, 2023.
Inside Gaza, a group of hostages were led into what Lifshitz called a "spider's web" of tunnels that Hamas had built beneath the coastal territory.
Persons:
Yocheved Lifshitz, I've, Lifshitz, Nir Oz, Kan, Nir Oz's, Janis Laizans, Henriette Chacar, Crispian Balmer, Kevin Liffey, Bernadette Baum
Organizations:
Hamas, Ichilov, REUTERS, Reuters, Thomson
Locations:
TEL AVIV, Gaza, Yocheved, Tel Aviv, Israel