A former Israeli hostage held captive by Hamas for more than 500 days claimed that some of his captors once worked normal, mundane jobs.
Ahead of the release of the remaining hostages on October 13, Tal Shoham spoke candidly to reporters from southern Israel.
He described what affected him most, as well as the cruelty some guards inflicted on him and others.
“One of the guards was a first-grade teacher, another was a university teacher and another was a doctor. These are normal people who become terrorists,” he said. The times of Israel.
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Tal Shoham, a former hostage kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, was held in Gaza for 505 days along with his wife and two children and three other members of his family. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)
He also said that most of them were “not soldiers,” he told the newspaper.
Interestingly, Shoham said that despite the “torture and cruelty” he described, they were “so brainwashed and full of hatred,” but for some of them it did not seem to stem from religious motives.
“Some of them were religious, but some were there just because this is popular. They can do any sadistic thoughts and actions, not only against Israelis but also against Gazans,” he added during Kibbutz Beeri’s interview.
He also told how a Hamas guard shot a Gaza man in the knees because he “looked suspicious,” and later, when the man was being treated by medics, he was killed because “they decided he had to die.”
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Tal Shoham was released by Hamas in February. (REUTERS/Hatem Khaled)
Shoham, who was abducted from Kibbutz Beeri with his wife, two young children and other family members on October 7, was not released with them in November 2023 but was eventually released in February.
His release came amid a minor deal between Qatar and Egypt, in which several remaining Israeli citizens were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Shoham also said he starved and survived on only 200 to 300 calories a day while held in the tunnels while Hamas kidnappers bragged about stealing humanitarian aid.
“I saw with my own eyes that they were stealing boxes and boxes and boxes of humanitarian aid from Egypt, Turkey, the Emirates, but they did not agree to give us any of this food in the tunnels,” he said.
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Some Hamas kidnappers previously worked mundane jobs, says a former Israeli hostage. (REUTERS/Mohammed Salem)
Shoham said captivity “forced me to go inside.”
“Only a few people were important to me, my family and a few close friends,” he said, adding that hearing of the release of his wife and children on the 50th day of their captivity was “great” in helping him through his ordeal.
“I have a lot of gratitude for life. My faith in humanity and in God has only increased. It is much more spiritual and religious than before.”
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The last 20 remaining living hostages were released Monday as part of the historic Gaza peace deal brokered by President Donald Trump.
Under the terms of the agreementHamas was also obliged to return all 28 bodies of dead prisoners. However, the terror group has failed to do so – a clear violation of the deal. Hamas claimed on Thursday that the process of returning the bodies would take time because the bodies were buried in tunnels and buried under rubble.
