‘I don’t know how he survived’, says freed Israeli hostage’s niece

While Hamas detained a hostage for 15 months in Gaza, Jadi Moussa, who is 80 years old, ate a piece of bread and olives twice a day, says his niece, Efrat Machikawa.

“I have no idea how they survived,” I told the BBC. “He lost a lot of weight.”

She said that she had given a small bowl of water to wash himself every five days and had to request the use of the toilet. He moved a lot and was mostly alone, as Mrs. MacCikawa says, “Unity is another form of torture.”

She added that mathematics problems are in his head to distract himself, and he walked up to 11 km (six miles) per day in the room, and measuring the distance.

“Even in the darkest times, he knew how to raise himself in one way or another,” she said. “It was hope for family reunification and anxiety for us the greatest strength, was the only nutrition he had for his soul.”

Gadi was one of 18 hostages that have been released so far this year as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, compared to 583 Palestinian prisoners.

The ceasefire aims to end 15 months of the war in Gaza, after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

Israel’s military campaign was killed in response to more than 47,000 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health, whose numbers are reliable by the United Nations.

Now, with the hostages returning from more than a year in captivity, the details of their circumstances appear. Narrations of limited foods, with no fresh vegetables, It is similar to the circumstances that Ghazan reported during the war.

Two former hosts of the BBC family told the BBC that they have returned thinner.

“We are all very excited to return home, but we are very concerned to see the country in which we have returned to us,” Tal Wakf, the 65 -year -old sister of Israel, Keith Siegel, who said on Saturday.

“Although we can see that he is able to walk and speak, we see that he lost a lot of weight,” she said.

I heard from her cousins ​​and the wife of Mr. Segel Aviva that “he had to bear many terrible situations in captivity while the good person is still.”

She added that he is still vegetarian.

She said: “Keith is very human and wanted to tell us that he is still the same person … even after all that he went … still lives in his convictions.”

“This is just the beginning of its rehabilitation. We have a long way in front of us.”

Mrs. MacCikawa said that the release of her uncle was a “terrifying” experience.

She said that the crowds surrounded him in Gaza on Thursday, as he believed that it was “the end of his life.”

After returning to Israel, I managed to sleep for five hours for the first time since his arrest.

She said, “I feel that my tension is slowly dissolved,” she said.

On Friday, she ran to embrace her uncle in the hospital, giving her the “strongest and strongest hug”, and took out “an explosion of tears and love.”

She said: “We understand that the uncle we know is the same one that we know but is bigger,” while he was talking about rehabilitation and being strong, and he dreamed of returning to his fields, where he was an agricultural expert.

“Unity and the family and perpetuate yourself for justice and the right reason are greater than anything, because I stopped my life on October 7,” she said.

Qatar and the United States thanked the deal in the deal, and the “brave” of the Red Cross workers who facilitated the publications.

She said: “Joy is amazing,” but she has mixed feelings until all the hostage returns. “We must eliminate terrorism” and “Israel must secure its borders and work in a better neighborhood and area.”

“We will always strive to be better, to be like a grandfather, to be the person who connects even at the worst times and gives the hand to a better life opportunity with everyone around us.”

A few hostages have so far spoke publicly about their experiences.

On Saturday, Doron Steinbreys, who was released two weeks ago, released a video statement.

“It will take time and it is a process – it will not end in a week or two, but here I thank you, and I am fine,” she said.

She said: “I understand that everyone knows me from this terrible recording.” They grabbed me, ecumented, or arrested “or as a blonde girl who wears pink.” “But I am no longer blond, and I will not wear the pink color anymore. I am Doron, 31 years old. I no longer walk Hamas, while I am at home.”

She added that families who still love their families in captivity, “you are not alone” and “we continue to fight for you.”

This includes the Bibas family, who welcomed Yarden’s hand on Saturday, but not his wife, Sherry, and two young children, Ariel and Kafir, who were also considered hostages.

Hamas said previously that they were killed in an Israeli air strike early in the war – but they were called in The hostage menu He said in January he was ready to liberate.

“The quarter of our heart has returned to us after 15 months,” the Pipas family said in a statement. “Yarden returned to the house, but the house is still incomplete.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said his country had been “deeply anxious” about their fate.

Another 15 hostage and 1300 Palestinian prisoners are still being released in the first six weeks of the ceasefire, which started on January 19.