Freed Israeli hostage describes ‘psychological warfare’ by Hamas captors

A freed Israeli hostage who was kidnapped at the Supernova music festival after being shot in the leg has told of the ordeal of being held by Hamas captors.

During the 54 days that Itay Regev, 19, was held in Gaza, he was told the Israeli government did not want him back and that hostages were being killed by Israeli strikes.

This, he said, was how Hamas militants attempted to make him fear the Israel Defense Forces more than them.

“It was a process and they would do it slowly,” he said during a visit to London. “It was kind of like psychological warfare where they wanted to make me fear more of the strikes rather than my captors.”

As Israel attempts to free more of the hostages captured by Hamas during the 7 October attacks that killed 1,200 people, its retaliatory offensive has killed more than 31,000 people in Gaza, plunging the territory into a humanitarian crisis.

In November, a temporary ceasefire allowed for the release of Regev, his sister Maya and more than 100 other hostages, in exchange for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

As recent negotiations aimed at brokering a ceasefire appear to have stalled, Regev said the government’s top priority should be returning the estimated 130 people still held hostage. “There is no point of the ceasefire if the hostages are not going back,” said Regev whose friend Omer Shem-Tov, 21, remains in captivity. “That’s the main goal.”

On 7 October, Regev, Maya, 21, and Shem-Tov, attended the Supernova music festival, three miles from the Gaza border, days after the siblings had returned from a family holiday in Mexico. When they heard gunshots and people screaming, they realised they had to start running.

People began to fall around them as bullets were fired, Regev recalled. As they sought refuge in a car, a group of attackers sprayed the vehicle with bullets, hitting both Regev and his sister in the leg.

“I didn’t realise I was being taken captive,” Regev said as he recalled being driven across the border. From the back of the truck with his hands bound and surrounded by attackers, he said he could hear cheers and laughter. “I thought I was going into Gaza and they’re taking us there to kill us.”

They were first led into a home and down into a tunnel before being taken to a hospital, he said, where a “terrified” doctor removed the bullet from his leg without anaesthetic. Surrounded by his captors, he was told to be quiet or he would be killed.

In the first week, they were held captive in a locked room of a house, deprived of daylight and given a daily meal that Regev said was not enough for both him and Shem-Tov. The situation in the house was fluid, he said, as people came and went, including a family and a doctor on one occasion.

Regev said being so far from his family was one of the hardest things to endure. “You could hear the fight going on, but not truly knowing what is happening,” he said. “It was very much uncertain.”

After five days, Maya, held in a room above them, was taken to a hospital for treatment for her wounded leg. Once every two weeks, he said, they communicated through notes. Regev and Shem-Tov were moved between three houses at night, and on one occasion, were given burqas to wear.

When asked about Israel’s response to the 7 October attacks in a campaign that has killed more than 30,000 people in Gaza, Regev said he was trying to distance himself from continuing events as much as possible.

When news arrived that he was to be released the next day, Regev said he believed it. By that point the sounds of war around them had stopped, and his captors told him hostages were being released daily.

He describes conflicting feelings of happiness at being reunited with his family, and sadness that Shem-Tov, after 52 days together, was not freed with him.

Regev was handed over to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, who brought him out of Gaza.

His visit to London was as part of a delegation, including relatives of hostages held in Gaza, urging leaders to prioritise the return of those still captive in Gaza.

“I fight for all the hostages who are still there,” said Regev. “They cannot ask or scream for help themselves and their voices should be heard.”