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What Israeli Children Released by Hamas Endured

(Ha'aretz) Relatives of three Israeli children released from Hamas captivity in the past few days gave the world a glimpse on Tuesday into what they had endured. Deborah Cohen, the aunt of 12-year-old Eitan Yahalomi, told France's BFM TV that when he and his captors arrived in Gaza, "all the civilians, everybody, beat him." Any child who cried was threatened with a gun to make them quiet. Eitan had been forced to watch videos of atrocities against Israelis committed in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. Esther Yahalomi, Eitan's grandmother, said that her grandson had been kept alone in a closed room for the first 16 days of his captivity. Nine-year-old Emily Hand's father, Thomas, told CNN, "The most shocking, disturbing part of meeting her was she was just whispering, you couldn't hear her....She'd been conditioned not to make any noise." Yair Rotem, the uncle of 13-year-old Hila Rotem Shoshani, who was held together with Emily, said they were only allowed to whisper. They weren't even allowed to whisper at night. Hila recounted that there was little food and not much water.
2023-11-29 00:00:00
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