Khaberni - An Israeli soldier who was detained by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) before his release last Monday, said that his captors responded to his demands for Jewish prayer tools and a Torah book during his captivity in Gaza.
In his first statement after his release, the Israeli Channel 13 reported that the soldier, Matan Engerst, said, "He asked Hamas to bring a Tefillin (a small leather box that Jews tie on their forehead during prayer) and Sidur (a prayer book) and the Torah."
He added that the al-Qassam Brigades provided him with the requested items which were obtained from places where the Israeli military had stayed in Gaza.
He explained that he performed his prayers three times a day inside the tunnels, and miraculously survived the Israeli aerial bombardment targeting his detention areas multiple times.
Repeatedly, the al-Qassam Brigades have emphasized their utmost efforts to preserve the lives of the captives, warning that bloody and random Israeli bombardment threatens their lives.
The conditions revealed by the Israeli soldier about his treatment during captivity contrast with the harsh conditions faced by Palestinian prisoners in the occupation's prisons, including torture, medical neglect, and mistreatment, as declared by recent ex-prisoners released under a prisoner exchange deal with Israel.
Since last Monday, Hamas has released twenty living Israeli captives and delivered the bodies of ten others by Wednesday evening, stating that more time is needed to exhume the remaining bodies.
In return, Israel has released 250 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, in addition to 1718 detained from Gaza after October 8, 2023.
More than 10,000 Palestinian prisoners—including children and women—who suffer from torture, starvation, and medical neglect still remain in Israeli jails, many of whom have died, according to Palestinian, Israeli, and international human rights and media reports.
With American support, since October 7, 2023, Israel has committed genocide in Gaza over two years, resulting in 67,913 martyrs and 170,134 injured, mostly children and women, and a famine that claimed the lives of 463 Palestinians, including 157 children.
