Israel intensifies strikes on Gaza, hostages share their experiences being abducted by Hamas
Israel intensifies strikes on Gaza, striking hundreds of targets in the region. Humanitarian aid groups continue to trickle into the Gaza Strip, providing Palestinians who have been desperately waiting for medicine, clean water, fuel and other supplies.
It was considered “one of the biggest barrages yet of its war with Hamas,” The New York Times reported.
What is happening with the Israeli strikes on Gaza?
Israel Defense Forces detailed it launched 400 airstrikes in the last day, per The Associated Press.
The strikes have crushed entire families in residential buildings, killing hundreds of Palestinians in one day. This was taking place while “military facilities were shut down because of bomb damage and lack of power,” AP reported.
The Gaza Health Ministry, which is headed by Hamas, said the Israeli airstrikes killed at least 700 people in one day — largely women and children.
Hamas hostage survivor speaks out on abduction experience
Recently released hostage Yocheved Lifshitz opened up to reporters about the “unimaginable hell” of being kidnapped by Hamas militant group Oct. 7, according to The Washington Post. The 85-year-old Israeli woman said she was thrown onto the back of a motorcycle with her legs on one side, head dangling on the other.
She spoke from Tel Aviv Ichilov Hospital where she is currently being treated and explained how she was “driven through fields while being beaten with sticks, making it difficult to breathe,” the Post reported.
“They didn’t break my ribs, but they hurt this area a lot, and that made breathing very difficult,” Lifshitz said, while explaining they also took her watch and jewelry, per the Post.
Related
However, as she was being released Monday, she offered a handshake to one of the armed militants and said one word — “shalom,” which is a Hebrew salutation that means “peace,” NBC News reported.
She explained that the Hamas militants “were gentle with us” once they were imprisoned in a “spiderweb” of tunnels underneath the Gaza Strip, per NBC News.
The captors had “paid special attention to the health of the hostages, providing medication, shampoo and feminine hygiene products,” but they were only offered small meals each day, the Times reported.
“They were very attentive to the sanitary aspect,” she said, per the Times. “so we don’t get sick on them, God forbid. There was a doctor nearby who would come every two or three days to check in on us. And the medic took the responsibility to bring us medication. If they did not have the exact same medication, they brought us the equivalent.”
Related
