Topline
Yocheved Lifschitz, an 85-year-old Israeli hostage released by Hamas Monday, said she and her fellow kibbutz residents were held captive inside tunnels in Gaza and described her experience as having “been through hell” during a press conference on Tuesday.
Yocheved Lifschitz speaks to the media alongside her daughter Sharone Lifschitz outside Ichilov … [+]
Key Facts
Lifschitz’s daughter said the 85-year-old was abducted during Hamas’ terror attack on Israel earlier this month, where she was transported by motorbike and sustained multiple bruises and breathing difficulty.
The 85-year-old, who was released on Monday, was struck on her ribs with sticks by her abductors, who then took her to a tunnel system that she compared to a spider web.
Lifschitz was dismissive of the Israeli government’s border protection measures, saying the abductors easily blew up the fences “that cost 2 million dollars to build but didn’t help with anything,” according to Haaretz.
Upon arriving at the tunnel, she was told by her captors that she would not be harmed because they believed in the Quran.
Lifschitz said the hostages slept on mattresses inside the tunnels, received treatment for their injuries and were fed the same thing as the captors—“cheese and cucumber.”
This is a developing story.