Rom’s mother has also shared further details of the physical torture he endured, saying: “Several times a day, they would beat him with a whip and with things that I will not even mention. He absorbed it.”
Avinatan Or's father revealed his son was kept in a cage at one point (Picture: Yossi Aloni/Flash90)Flash90
New details have also emerged of the conditions endured by Avinatan Or, who was kept alone for his entire 738 days in captivity.
His father Yaron told Kan Radio: “He was handcuffed to the bars. It was a barred place, 1.8 meters [six feet] high, and the length of it was the length of the mattress, plus a little. You can call it a cage.”
The father of Yosef-Haim Ohana, Rabbi Avi Ohana, shared similar testimony, telling Kan Moreshet radio: “[Their captors] put seven men in a pit… They could not sit, only lean against the wall while standing. He lacked oxygen. I thank God, who made him strong. What kept him going was his family.”
Matan Angrest spent two weeks chained to a gas cylinder,(Picture: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)Flash90
Matan Angrest’s family have revealed that at one point he was beaten so badly he lost consciousness, and spent two weeks chained to a gas cylinder, terrified to move.
“He bears many injuries, some from October 7 and others from the two years that followed,” said his brother. In a separate interview, his mother revealed: “Many times they found themselves buried in dust under the rubble, trying to climb out and survive.”
Like many of the hostages, Matan endured psychological as well as physical torture. “The terrorists constantly lied to him about his family,” his brother said.
Speaking to Harretz, Nimrod Cohen’s brother Yotam said: “They tried to convince them to believe that Israel gave up on them, that the government didn’t want to bring them back, that the country wasn’t fighting for them.”
Similarly, Tami Braslavski revealed: “They told him [Rom] that we were broken, that we didn’t have the strength to get up and protest… that he apparently wasn’t so important and that he had nowhere to go back to. They told him Israel had fallen, that almost 3,000 soldiers had fallen.”
Released hostage Eitan Mor arrives to Beilinson hospital, October 13, 2025. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90Flash90
Eitan Mor faced similar treatment. During a meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, he revealed that he met Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the head of Hamas’ military wing, during his time in captivity. According to Mor, Haddad told him: “If anyone gets out first, it’ll be you. Your father doesn’t go to protests anyway, so we’ll send you back first.”
Despite facing such physical and mental challenges, Israeli medics have revealed that the hostages are responding well to treatment.
Dr Michal Steinman, Rabin Medical Center’s director of nursing, said she feels “very optimistic” about the hostages’ recovery. “It’s going to be a very long road, and there are going to be ups and downs, but I think each one of them developed really special techniques of survival and how to keep their mind and soul guarded,” she said.
Professor Itai Pessach, associate director-general of Sheba Medical Center, another hospital where freed hostages are being treated, said: “Every one of them has endured untold adversity and horrors, and therefore the road for recovery is going to be a very long one.
“As a physician and as a human being, I can’t emphasise enough the impact of being surrounded by their loved ones on the general well-being and their ability to heal,” he added.
