Keith Siegel, Yarden Bibas & Ofer Kalderon tells inhuman conditions

Keith Siegel, Yarden Bibas and Ofer Kalderon returned to Israel on Saturday after 484 days of captivity in the Gaza Strip, describing particularly exhausting conditions of detention that were marked by constant movements and a serious lack of food.

Held in Gaza City, Siegel was transferred between several apartments and tunnels, systematically locked in rooms to avoid being discovered. According to Kan, The national broadcaster of Israel, he thought that his son Shai had been killed until he heard his voice on the radio. Although he was a vegetarian, he was forced to eat meat due to the lack of food.

Bibas and Kalderon testified that they had undergone a particularly intense physical and psychological violence during their first days of captivity in Khan Yunis. “They struck us and locked us in cages,” they said, confirming accounts of other previously published hostages. The two men were held in tunnels alongside other captives.

“Yarden learned Arabic during his captivity,” the Israeli public broadcaster reported. As for Kalderon, terrorist captors considered him a reservist, which was why he bore a uniform to his release. When he arrived at the meeting point with the FDI, he asked for a beer, but the soldiers had to refuse because of his weak state.

The three men said they had access to the media, mainly Al JazeeraAnd watch demonstrations for their release alongside their captors. “These gatherings have given us strength and hope to find our families,” they said.

At the Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, Professor Gil Fair said that Siegel was “in a stable state that allows him to spend time with his family, rest and treat the experiences of the last days and the whole period. We will continue to monitor the effects of captivity and provide all the necessary services.