Israeli captive endured ‘hell’ in attack, but treated ‘well’ in Gaza

An 85-year-old Israeli woman who was taken captive by Hamas for two weeks said she was beaten while being abducted, but treated “well” while in the Gaza Strip.

Yocheved Lifshitz was freed on Monday night along with another elderly woman, 79-year-old Nurit Cooper. Hamas released them on “humanitarian” grounds in a deal brokered by Qatar and Egypt.

Lifshitz, sitting in a wheelchair outside a Tel Aviv hospital on Tuesday, recounted being assaulted by her captors as they sped her into Gaza on the back of a motorbike on October 7.

“When I was on the bike, my head was on one side and the rest of my body on the other side,” she said. “The young men hit me on the way. They didn’t break my ribs but it was painful and I had difficulty breathing.”

“I’ve been through hell … we didn’t think or know we would get to this situation.”