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 stated, had given up on him. Even his household had moved on.

“Your mother is on trip in Greece,” the militants informed him. “Your mother doesn’t find out about you in any respect — and doesn’t wish to know.”

So persuasive had been they that when Israeli safety forces burst by way of the door of the condo the place Mr. Kozlov was being held on Saturday, he was at first uncertain of whether or not they had come to save lots of or kill him, his dad and mom stated 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 physician in Israel reported that whereas he and the three different rescued Hamas hostages appeared to be in pretty good situation at first look, assessments confirmed that every one had been malnourished. And all, stated Dr. Itai Pessach, the top of the medical staff 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 stated.

Dr. Pessach stated the hostages he had examined had misplaced a whole lot of weight, although they gained some again, and their muscle tissue had been “extraordinarily wasted.” The combination of poor diet, confinement, lack of daylight and stress that they endured could have long-term implications for his or her well being, he added.

Hamas says it has handled the hostages properly 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 response to Israeli officers, seven had been rescued. Greater than 100 had been launched in November in an alternate for Palestinians held prisoner in Israel. Not less than a 3rd of the about 120 captives who stay in Gaza are now not alive, Israeli authorities have stated.

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 demise 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, at the least 36,000 Palestinians have been killed for the reason that warfare started. In Israel, the rescues lifted the general public temper, but in addition provided a reminder of the plight of hostages nonetheless being held.

“He stated it was very tough,” stated Mr. Kozlov’s mom, Evgeniia Kozlova, who, alongside together with his father, Mikhail Kozlov, spoke to The New York Occasions in Tel Aviv. “It’s very exhausting to place into phrases.”

For a lot of his captivity, Mr. Kozlov’s household stated, the militants certain his fingers and ft so tightly that the restraints left marks on his physique. In addition they informed Mr. Kozlov, a 27-year-old Russian Israeli, that his authorities had concluded that the hostages had been a burden, Ms. Kozlova stated.

“They had been telling Andrey to be very quiet as a result of they, the hostages, are an issue for Israel,” she stated. “They stated Israel can remedy this drawback any means it needs, together with killing the hostages in order 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 stated.

Dr. Pessach stated it was crucial to permit newly freed hostages to make their very own decisions after months of getting others determine for them. However of their first hours of freedom, he stated, there’s something else they appear to crave: to see the sky.

“We now have discovered we have to take them out on the primary night they’re right here,” Dr. Pessach stated.

Mikhail Kozlov stated 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 navy operation or freed by way of a diplomatic settlement, they each favored an settlement. However since no deal materialized, he stated, they wished him introduced dwelling in any means attainable.

“If there was such a chance to keep away from these victims, it might be a lot better,” he stated.


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