Hostage Itzik Elgarat was likely tortured to death, autopsy shows

His brother, Danny Elgarat, announced on Thursday that his torture during interrogation—rather than a heart attack, as previously suspected—might have been responsible for his death.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

An autopsy of captive Itzik Elgarat, whose body was returned to Israel in the previous hostage deal, revealed that signs of torture were sufficient to have caused his death.

His brother, Danny Elgarat, announced on Thursday that his torture during interrogation—rather than a heart attack, as previously suspected—might have been responsible for his death.

“Itzik didn’t die from a heart attack. His body arrived with many broken ribs caused by outside pressure to the chest, broken big toes, and a broken nose,” Elgarat wrote.

He added, “The cause of death wasn’t legally conclusive, but the autopsy stated that such injuries in a living human could cause their death.”

Last month, while speaking to the Knesset, Elgarat said that his brother had died of a heart attack while Hamas interrogated him.

Speaking at the Knesset, Elgarat said, “Yesterday, intelligence personnel came to see me and updated me with new information. My brother was held together with Edan Alexander, and one day, they took him out for interrogation. Hamas suspected my brother was a pilot. He never returned from that interrogation.”

“Edan asked where Itzik was, and they told him he had ‘gone.’ Itzik suffered a heart attack from the torture during the interrogation,” Elgarat recounted through tears.

Itzik Elgarat was buried in Kibbutz Nir Oz, where he lived and was taken by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7.

His brother reported viewing a hostage propaganda video released by Hamas and described him as emaciated and pleading for his life.

“I saw in his eyes that he knew he would probably never get out of there alive,” Elgarat said. “We waited so long to see him alive, but not after he was dead.”

Itzik Elgarat’s body was identified on Feb. 27, 510 days after he was kidnapped.

Other deceased hostages—Ohad Yahalomi, Shlomo Mansour and Tzachi Idan—were identified on the same day.