The New York Times quoted the released Israeli detainee, Chen Goldstein-Almog, as saying that she and her three sons, who were detained with her by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Gaza, were treated with respect and were not subjected to any physical harm or ill-treatment, but she said that she had met other detainees who claimed that they had been subjected to ill-treatment. Bad.
She said she had long conversations with her captors that sometimes lasted for hours. “We talked about our families and the extreme danger we all face,” she added.
She explained that they were mostly detained in an apartment in Gaza, but during her detention period – which lasted 7 weeks – she and her children were transferred to different apartments, tunnels, a mosque, and even a destroyed supermarket, as she put it. She said that during the various transfers, the situation was terrifying because of the Israeli bombing on Gaza strip.
She also said that the guard commander seemed educated and spoke Hebrew, and that the guards taught her son 250 words in Arabic to keep him busy. They brought him a notebook to study, regularly discussed what to eat and invited them to participate in cooking in the kitchen.
The released detainee added that a Hamas fighter apologized to her for the killing of her husband and one of her daughters at the hands of other individuals, and told her that what happened was a mistake.
Goldstein-Almog confirmed that before her release, one of the guards told her, “Do not return to the Gaza envelope because we are returning,” and asked her to go further.
Goldstein-Almoj, who is 48 years old, and her three children were detained during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7.
They were released in late November as part of a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas during the temporary humanitarian truce.