How are the hostages being treated?

Will the mainstream media report on this horrific mistreatment of the hostages that has left so many of them so sick?

By Hugh Fitzgerald, Frontpage Magazine

On October 7, in addition to torturing, raping, mutilating, and murdering 1,200 Israelis, Hamas terrorists kidnapped 251 Israelis, aged from 8 months to 82 years.

There was a single freeing of 105 hostages in November in exchange for Palestinians who had been in Israeli jails.

As of now, 116 hostages have been returned alive to Israel, consisting of the 105 released in a prisoner exchange deal, four more released by Hamas unilaterally, and seven rescued by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Three Israeli hostages who managed to escape their captors were killed by the IDF, whose soldiers had mistaken them for terrorists.

132 hostages ought to still be alive and held in captivity, with that number calculated as follows: 251 hostages kidnapped on October 7, with 116 hostages returned (105 freed in a prisoner exchange, four others released unilaterally, seven rescued by the IDF), and three accidentally killed by the IDF.

That means Hamas should still have 132 hostages, but the Israelis believe no more than 100 may still be alive; some Israelis think the figure is lower still, about 80.

For quite clearly, Hamas has been killing them. No one wants to talk about this now, lest Hamas be provoked into not agreeing to a hostage deal.

Nor will they talk about these murders, because there is no proof, only deep suspicion among Israelis, But eventually, once a ceasefire is achieved and “all the hostages” are returned, the awful truth will emerge.

Meanwhile, the Israelis have released information on the medical condition of twenty-six hostages who were released in the November swap. As you might expect, the hostages were not well treated.

More on the difficult conditions they endured while being held captive in Gaza can be found here: “Israeli hospital documents damage to health of freed hostages,” by Joshua Marks, JNS, August 11, 2024:

Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel in Petach Tikvah has documented the medical conditions of 26 women and children released from Hamas captivity in Gaza.

In the report, the details of which were published in Maariv for the first time on Sunday, experts at the hospital summarized the hard conditions suffered by those held captive by the terrorist group following the Oct. 7 attack on the northwestern Negev that killed some 1,200 people. The terrorists took around 250 people back to Gaza, 115 of whom remain there after 310 days.

Around 50 Israeli women and children were released in the November 2023 hostage deal; the study examined the medical records of 19 children between the ages of 2 and 18 and seven women between the ages of 34 and 78, who were all hospitalized at Schneider….

All of the abductees suffered from starvation and poor nutrition. Fifteen of them displayed significant weight loss up to 15% of their body mass. According to the abductees, their diet consisted of a small amount of rice and white bread without vegetables, protein and fat….

Lab tests showed high levels of the creatine phosphokinase (CPK) enzyme, indicating significant muscle damage, possibly from sitting for prolonged periods.

According to the blood tests, around half of the patients suffered from tick-borne fever, Q fever from inhaling dust or coming into contact with sick animals and murine fever caused by bacteria.

These infections can cause neurological problems, breathing difficulties and damage to joints and muscles, and are sometimes life-threatening.

Yes, these Israeli women and children were treated terribly. All of them suffered from starvation and malnutrition. Their diet consisted solely of small amounts of rice and white bread.

Several had been kept underground, in the dark, and suffered Vitamin D deficiencies…Many suffered as well from tick-borne illnesses. Many had lice and insect bites.

Asthma patients had attacks but no inhalers were provided. Many suffered muscle damage and muscle pain from being kept for long periods in a sitting position.

And there were many more manifestations of ill treatment by their jailers, including repeated rape, and gang rape, of women and girls held hostage.

But what did you expect? This is Hamas.

Will the mainstream media report on this horrific mistreatment of the hostages that has left so many of them so sick? Of course not.

Did the media pay much attention to the rape, gang rape, and sexualized torture of hostages by Hamas, that Pramila Patten reported on to the UN last March?

No, they were too busy denouncing Israel for the “genocide” it was accused of committing in Gaza.

Let’s see if this latest medical report on what 26 of the women and children freed last November will stir any outrage outside of Israel.

Will the EU’s Josep Borrell denounce Hamas after reading this report? Will the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres bring this report on the mistreatment of Israeli hostages to the attention of “international community”?

Don’t be silly.

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