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Israel-Hamas war: Freed hostage says terror group tortured him as Hamas leader defends October 7

A Hamas leader has explained why they had no choice but to unleash a reign of terror on October 7 as a freed Israeli hostage speaks of his torture.

Emily Macdonald

 

New Hamas torture methods revealed by rescued hostage’s family

The family of rescued hostage Andrey Kozlov, 27, have revealed new details of Hamas torture including dehydrating captives.

 

A Hamas leader has described the October 7 attack as a “reaction against occupation” as a freed hostage tells of how his captors taunted they were going to murder him on camera.

 

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told CNN that Israel brought the attack on themselves.

 

“The one who is in charge or responsible for that is (the Israeli) occupation,” Hamdan said.

 

“If you resist the occupation, (Israel) will kill you, if you did not resist the occupation, (Israel) also will kill you and deport you out of your country.

 

“So what we are supposed to do, just to wait?”

 

Hamdan also said if any of the freed hostages were suffering psychologically it is because during their time in Gaza they were subjected to the same barrage of violence as the Palestinian civilians.

 

“I believe if they have mental problem, this is because of what Israel have done in Gaza,” Hamdan said.

 

“Because (no one can) handle what Israel is doing, bombing each day, killing civilians, killing women and children … they saw that (with) their own eyes.”

 

Hamdan’s comments come as the parents of freed hostage Andrey Kozlov, 27, reveal the extent of his torment.

 

Evguenia and Mikhail Kozlov, both 52, rushed to Israel from their home in Saint Petersburg, Russia, when they heard he had been rescued.

Hamas says if freed hostages are experiencing psychological issues it is because of what Israel has done to Gaza.

Hamas says if freed hostages are experiencing psychological issues it is because of what Israel has done to Gaza.

 

In an interview in Russian in Tel Aviv, they told AFP of what their son went through.

 

“He tells us certain things. He says there are others that he will never tell,” his father said.

 

“One day, one of his captors showed him that he would film and kill him on camera to show the world. And he said it would not be now, but tomorrow, and he left (Andrey) … He must have thought about it all day,” Mikhail said.

 

His parents say that Andrey told them he spent two months with hands and feet bound, “and at the beginning had his hands tied behind his back”.

 

Asked about Andrey’s state of mind five days after his return to Israel, where he had moved a year and a half before the attack, his parents said “it is now difficult for him to make decisions – even simple ones – as he was deprived of this opportunity for a long time”.

 

“He does not know what to say when we give him a choice between rice and pasta,” his father said.

 

Mr Kozlov’s father also explained the cruel way his son’s captors used dehydration as a torture technique.

 

“One of the examples that Andrey gave us … is that at the hottest time of the day, they would cover him with blankets,” Mikhail, told CNN.

 

“It is a very difficult ordeal. To be dehydrated during heat,” he said.

 

Kozlov’s brother, Dmitry, said his brother was told not to speak Hebrew and would beat him for no reason.

 

The terror group also used forms of torture that “did not leave marks”, Dmitry said.

 

When he was freed, Andrey, who had spent part of his captivity with the two other men rescued in the Israeli operation, was shocked to learn that 116 hostages remained in Gaza, out of 251 people forcibly taken to Gaza on October 7.

 

The captives still in Gaza include 41 whom the Israeli army believes to be dead.

 

Article link: https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/world/hamas-says-274-killed-during-israeli-militarys-rescue-of-four-gaza-hostages/news-story/a5208b635e7cf543ede69c5dfb68d937
Article source: Courier Mail 15.6.2024

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