Former Israeli hostages reunite in freedom after captivity in Gaza

Former Israeli hostages Sagui Dekel-Chen and Edan Alexander, who spent harrowing months together in Hamas captivity in subterranean tunnels, were recently reunited in freedom in Israel.

Dekel-Chen, who was released in February, visited Edan Alexander, who was recovering in the hospital after being freed last week, following 584 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza. Alexander, a dual American-Israeli national, was reportedly released by Hamas as a 'goodwill gesture' toward U.S. President Donald Trump, who visited the Middle East last week.

The former hostages revealed that they suffered severe physical and mental tolls during the long Hamas captivity. 

“Edan and I were held together for part of our captivity. Our fates were tied in the most complex situation imaginable,” Dekel-Chen told the news outlet Ynet News after the meeting with Alexander. 

“It was important for me to welcome him back. I know what he went through – and what he still has ahead,” Dekel-Chen continued. “I’m incredibly happy for Edan and his family. I hope I can soon embrace all the other hostages who were left behind,” he added.

Edan’s father, Adi Alexander, recently told The New York Times that his son was handcuffed and beaten by Hamas terrorists during difficult interrogations. 

“But the interrogations were useless,” the father said. “Edan had only been a soldier for 10 months when he was kidnapped. They knew far more about the IDF’s order of battle than he did."

Edan Alexander revealed upon his return to Israel that he was kept handcuffed in a cage in a dark tunnel during parts of his captivity in Gaza. It was only after Hamas realized the value of Alexander’s American citizenship in the hostage negotiations that the terror group decided to slightly improve his living conditions in captivity. He then became known among Hamas operatives as “the American.” 

“At one point, a tunnel collapsed on him and injured his shoulder,” Edan’s father revealed.

“He was very thin. He survived mainly on pita, rice, beans and black coffee. His skin turned pale from the lack of sunlight, covered in red sores. His whole body was scratched from bedbug bites. His skin is in terrible shape,” the father continued. 

The father concluded by revealing that Hamas upgraded his son’s captivity in January after the newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Hamas would suffer serious consequences unless it released all hostages. 

 “He was moved to another tunnel with access to a TV and shower and after the January ceasefire, he was even given meat.”

Many former hostages have revealed that they suffered severe and systematic abuse in Hamas captivity. 

In February, Sigalit Cohen, the mother of the former hostage Eliya Cohen, revealed that her son and fellow hostages were kept chained and starving in subterranean Hamas tunnels. 

“We know that they have been tied up in chains from the day they were kidnapped until today, which is unimaginable,” the mother told Israeli media at the time. 

“They were treated like animals. They hardly received food, they didn't see daylight, they were in the tunnels from the day they were kidnapped until today. And I'm not even talking about the abuse, I don't know what they went through there,” she added.