Hostages relate stories of Hamas' physical and psychological torture following release

The three hostages released by Hamas on Saturday – Yair Horn, Alexander Trupanov and Sagui Dekel-Chen – described the physical and psychological abuse they suffered at the hands of their captors. 

While there was some trepidation in Israel regarding the condition of the hostages following the previous release, in which the three hostages were visibly emaciated, the three men released on Saturday appeared to be in better physical condition. 

However, as with previous groups of hostages, the men who returned on Saturday have already begun to share testimonies from their time in captivity.

Horn, Trupanov and Dekel-Chen were all abducted by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, after being wounded and subjected to violence that aggravated their injuries.

Dekel-Chen underwent surgery for his shoulder injury in captivity and still suffers from open wounds. He was held together with Yair Horn in underground tunnels along with three other hostages. Trupanov was held alone. 

According to Kan News, Dekel-Chen was shot in the shoulder and unsuccessfully treated during his captivity. However, upon his release, he asked the IDF soldiers to tend to his wound later, as “the most important thing is for me to meet my family now.” 

As in previous releases, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) freed the hostages with "gifts," including discharge certificates, souvenirs and medals.

Horn, whose brother remains in captivity, received an hourglass from Hamas with a picture of Einav Zangaucker and her son Matan, who remains in captivity, as well. The hourglass has a sign with the phrase “Time is running out” written in Hebrew and Arabic.

The three men said that after spending such a long time in Hamas captivity, they are able to speak some Arabic. 

The hostages were also moved around, which was also reported by previous hostages.

Dekel-Chen was held in a hospital in Gaza, along with other hostages from Nir Oz, including Itzik Elgart, until the beginning of the first hostage-ceasefire agreement on Nov. 24, 2023. 

After the first hostage release, Dekel-Chen and the other Nir Oz hostages were separated.

Horn said he met his brother Eitan in the tunnels under Gaza earlier in his captivity, however, he had not seen him recently and the family does not know his condition. 

Horn’s mother, Ruthie Strom, said he received several blows to the head during his captivity and that he was kept in tunnels most of the time. 

Channel 12 News reported that the three hostages were wrongly considered to be soldiers and were regularly interrogated by Hamas, including the use of torture, in attempts to gain useful intelligence. 

In a final element of psychological abuse, the three hostages were brought to the handover ceremony in a pickup truck stolen from Horn's brother, Eitan, during the Oct. 7 invasion. The family who previously owned the truck recognized it while watching the release ceremony.

טוב תשמעו סיפור
קצת לפני ה7.10 נאלצנו למכור את הרכב המשפחתי שלנו אהבת חיי של אבא שלי הד׳ואג שלנו לבחור מקסים בשם איתן שגר בעוטף
אבא שלי היה כמובן מאוהב ברכב הזה עשה לו הגבהה ג׳אנטים שחורים בקיצור כל התוספות
ב07.10 גילינו שאיתן נחטף אבל לא ידענו שהרכב נחטף איתו
מציאות הזויה שבה pic.twitter.com/XsS669Bu7t

— Rotemi (@RNechemya) February 15, 2025

In an 𝕏 post, Rotem Nechemya relates how her family sold the truck "to a lovely guy named Eitan who lives in the [Gaza] Envelope."

"On [Oct. 7] we discovered that Eitan had been kidnapped but we didn't know that the vehicle had been kidnapped with him," she related. The family only found out when watching the release ceremony.

A Hamas official later confirmed to Al Jazeera that the vehicle was stolen during the invasion of Nir Oz. 

During the release ceremony, terrorists from Hamas' military wing arrived at the release point in Khan Younis wearing IDF uniforms and military vests, and carrying IDF weapons taken during the past year of fighting.