Within the months after he was taken hostage in Israel and hidden within the Gaza Strip, Andrey Kozlov’s captors saved drumming in the identical message: The world, they mentioned, had given up on him. Even his household had moved on.
“Your mother is on trip in Greece,” the militants instructed him. “Your mother doesn’t learn about you in any respect — and doesn’t need to know.”
So persuasive had been they that when Israeli safety forces burst by way of the door of the condominium the place Mr. Kozlov was being held on Saturday, he was at first not sure of whether or not they had come to avoid wasting or kill him, his mother and father mentioned in an interview this week throughout which they recounted his ordeal.
The account of Mr. Kozlov’s eight months in captivity got here as a health care provider in Israel reported that whereas he and the three different rescued Hamas hostages appeared to be in pretty good situation at first look, checks confirmed that every one had been malnourished. And all, mentioned Dr. Itai Pessach, the top of the medical crew for returning hostages at Sheba Medical Heart, had suffered mistreatment in various levels of frequency and depth.
“They had been all abused, punished and tortured bodily and psychologically in some ways,” he mentioned.
Dr. Pessach mentioned the hostages he had examined had misplaced plenty of weight, although they gained some again, and their muscle tissue had been “extraordinarily wasted.” The combination of poor vitamin, confinement, lack of daylight and stress that they endured might have long-term implications for his or her well being, he added.
Hamas says it has handled the hostages effectively in contrast with Israel’s therapy of Palestinian prisoners, a declare that Israeli officers deny.
Sheba Medical Heart, which is on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, has been the primary cease for dozens of captives who had been taken within the Hamas-led assault on Israel on Oct. 7. Of the 251 individuals who had been kidnapped, in keeping with Israeli officers, seven had been rescued. Greater than 100 had been launched in November in an change for Palestinians held prisoner in Israel. A minimum of a 3rd of the about 120 captives who stay in Gaza are not alive, Israeli authorities have mentioned.
The rescue on Saturday was accompanied by intense airstrikes and important casualties within the neighborhood the place the hostages had been being held. Native well being officers put the dying toll at greater than 270, together with kids, however didn’t say what number of had been militants.
In Gaza, these deaths added to the despair in an enclave the place, native officers say, no less than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed because the battle started. In Israel, the rescues lifted the general public temper, but additionally supplied a reminder of the plight of hostages nonetheless being held.
“He mentioned it was very tough,” mentioned Mr. Kozlov’s mom, Evgeniia Kozlova, who, alongside together with his father, Mikhail Kozlov, spoke to The New York Instances in Tel Aviv. “It’s very onerous to place into phrases.”
For a lot of his captivity, Mr. Kozlov’s household mentioned, the militants certain his fingers and toes so tightly that the restraints left marks on his physique. Additionally they instructed Mr. Kozlov, a 27-year-old Russian Israeli, that his authorities had concluded that the hostages had been a burden, Ms. Kozlova mentioned.
“They had been telling Andrey to be very quiet as a result of they, the hostages, are an issue for Israel,” she mentioned. “They mentioned Israel can remedy this drawback any manner it needs, together with killing the hostages so that they don’t have to consider them anymore.”
Mr. Kozlov went exterior solely at evening, when he was being moved to a brand new location, his mom mentioned.
Dr. Pessach mentioned it was vital to permit newly freed hostages to make their very own decisions after months of getting others resolve for them. However of their first hours of freedom, he mentioned, there’s something else they appear to crave: to see the sky.
“We now have realized we have to take them out on the primary night they’re right here,” Dr. Pessach mentioned.
Mikhail Kozlov mentioned that when he and his spouse mentioned months in the past whether or not they most well-liked their son to be rescued in a army operation or freed by way of a diplomatic settlement, they each favored an settlement. However since no deal materialized, he mentioned, they wished him introduced residence in any manner doable.
“If there was such a chance to keep away from these victims, it might be significantly better,” he mentioned.
