08/15/2025
Continuing to pray every day,will never forget
In what has been described as the “Health report from hell”, the Israel’s Ministry of Health has compiled an evidence-packed report of the horrific conditions hostages are experiencing in Hamas captivity, and sent it to the ICRC (Red Cross) and other health organizations.
The report on the hostages was based on testimonies and medical records from 12 former hostages, four women and eight men, who told of systematic physical and psychological degradation, and in some cases ongoing sexual harassment and subhuman conditions, according to the Times of Israel. Their testimonies were corroborated by others who were held in captivity.
Here are some of the details included in the report:
- Hostages reported suffering from constant diarrhea, high fevers, severe metabolic issues, lice, parasites, skin infections, and dangerous external and internal inflammation.
- There were reports of daily beatings, relentless psychological torture, chronic sexual assault, and sustained trauma.
- They survived on just one meal of half a pita bread or rice each day, and sometimes fed rotting food crawling with worms.
- Due to medical neglect and deliberate starvation, the hostages lost between 15% – 40% of their body weight and muscle mass.
- Some were forced to drink contaminated water such as untreated sewage and sea water.
- Many hostages were tightly bound for hours without regard for basic physiological needs.
- They had to go to the toilet in holes dug by captives, and sometimes in public view.
- They were largely kept in narrow tunnels barely two square meters (21 sq ft) in size and under 1.5 meters (5 ft) tall, with up to six people for extended periods.
- Several were kept in absolute isolation for over a year, and one was held alone while injured for over 50 days. This resulted in despair, sensory deprivation and in some cases, dissociation.
- Hostages could be suddenly woken in the night at gunpoint, and forced on long walks through tunnels while blindfolded.
- They slept on hard tunnel floors amid insects, exposed to constant oppressive heat or freezing cold.
- Most went months without showering or changing clothes. Showers were cold with a shared towel, and some had to wear the same underwear for 6 months.
- Psychological suffering was reported, including hallucinations from untreated pain, loss of sense of time due to psychological abuse, and nightmares and flashbacks.
What they found was harrowing, but it’s important for us to understand what is happening so that we can pray with urgency.
Click here to read more: https://www.oneforisrael.org/bible-based-teaching-from-israel/israel-health-report-on-hostages/