About 100 Israeli hostages kidnapped during the deadly Hamas raid on Israel have been released after more than 50 days in captivity. Dr. Itai Pessach (director of the Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital at Sheba Medical Center outside Tel Aviv), whose team interviewed and examined many of them, told “CBS News Sunday Morning” that the released hostages were taken to the medical center, whether they would want to come or not.
“We thought they needed a buffer from time in captivity, underground, in the dark, with very little food and a lot of psychological stress,” he said. “We have to remember that these people have not been there since October 7th.”
Some had no home to return to – and it was Passover that had to inform them of this. “One of the biggest challenges we had was: How do we spread the bad news?” he said. “You look around the room and realize someone is missing. We had to prepare for that.”
More Hamas-held hostages and Palestinian prisoners released (“Sunday Morning”)
Aside from a brief ceasefire, there has been a near-constant Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, reducing much of it to rubble and leaving half the population suffering from severe hunger.
Pesach said he believes both Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder: “If they experience events like this, it will take a toll, and it doesn't matter whether they are on this side or the other.”
The war between Israel and Hamas resumes in the Gaza Strip as Israelis accuse the Palestinian group of violating the ceasefire. Israel is expanding its ground offensive in Gaza, saying efforts in the south will be “no less powerful” than in the north. says the war between Israel and Hamas has caused “unprecedented” suffering in Gaza and calls for a new ceasefire and more aid
Dr. Itai Passover. / Photo credit: CBS News
He also believes that television images of the freed hostages, which suggested they were not physically abused, were misleading. “I think it was very misleading,” Pesach said. “Not a single person who came back didn’t have a significant physical injury or medical issue. In addition, some of them were given medication to make them look better than they actually were.”
There were also stories of hostage branding (a common practice carried out on Jews and other prisoners in Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust) and sexual abuse. “Yes, we have seen signs of branding,” Pesach said. “We definitely saw signs of handcuffing. We have heard and seen evidence of sexual abuse in a significant proportion of the people we have treated [are still there]both physically and sexually.”
Pesach also said that hostages were subjected to psychological torture (e.g. being told that Israel no longer exists). “What really impressed me is how prepared the Hamas terrorists were for their psychological torment,” he said. “It was structured and pre-planned. They keep saying, 'Nobody cares about you. You are alone here. Do you hear the bombs falling? They don't care about you. We are here to protect you.' And that really played with her mind.
“There were some episodes where they separated two family members and then put them back together, then separated them and then put them back together. So as a parent you would do anything to have your child with you even if you are in captivity,” he said.
Pesach said there was no formula for how they treated the hostages upon their return. “There was no protocol; We had to invent that as we went along,” he said. “Unfortunately, we are now the world’s experts in taking hostages.”
Don't miss Lesley Stahl's interview with freed hostages on “60 Minutes” Sunday, Dec. 17, on CBS and Paramount+. Check out a preview here:
Story produced by Mary Raffalli. Editor: George Pozderec.
See also:
Hamas Tunnel: Piercing a battlefield beneath Gaza (“Sunday Morning”)Israel's military increases shelling of northern Gaza Strip (“Sunday Morning”)Volunteers mobilize to help Israeli hostage families (“Sunday Morning”)Truckloads of humanitarian aid finally reach Gaza ( “Sunday Morning”) Middle East scholar Hussein Ibish: “Israelis and Palestinians must stop dehumanizing each other” (“Sunday Morning”) In view of the protests against the war in the Middle East, questions arise about America’s role (“Sunday Morning” )
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