CNN
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Or Levy endured nearly 500 days of captivity in a tunnel beneath Gaza, cut off from sunlight, unable to stand, and uncertain about his wife’s fate. He often witnessed his Hamas captors enjoying food that he was not allowed to eat.

“He and all the other hostages were starved. They hardly received any food or water,” Michael Levy, Or’s brother, shared during an interview with CNN.

Michael recounted that while Or and his fellow captives received minimal rations, their captors feasted on items like “chicken and meat.” He noted that the Hamas fighters would even laugh as the starved hostages looked at the food in front of them.

After their release as part of a ceasefire agreement, the skeletal appearances of Or Levy, Ohad Ben Ami, and Eli Sharabi alarmed many Israelis. The distressing visual evidence, paired with their accounts of endurance, has sparked concern for the well-being of those still held captive in Gaza as the initial phase of the ceasefire draws to a close and future developments remain unclear.

Or, who was 33 when captured, was enjoying a dance with his wife, Einav, at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, when armed Hamas operatives stormed southern Israel. Tragically, Einav was killed during the horrific event—an assumption Or held for months but did not confirm until his release 16 months later.

Throughout this period, Israel conducted extensive military operations in Gaza, asserting their goal was to rescue remaining hostages and dismantle Hamas’s ability to govern and pose threats. Human rights organizations criticized Israel for limiting humanitarian aid to Gaza, which they claimed placed Palestinian children at risk of starvation. There were also warnings from United Nations experts regarding potential famine conditions in the region, only alleviated when the ceasefire agreement allowed limited aid to reach the 2.1 million residents of Gaza.

When asked if food shortages in Gaza might explain his brother’s malnourishment, Michael argued that it did not account for the ample meals enjoyed by the Hamas captors.

“They were intentionally starved. That’s the reality. The terrorists beside them were eating constantly,” he said, recounting what his brother shared about the conditions in captivity. The Hamas captors mocked the unfed hostages as they gazed at their plentiful meals.

Michael Levy noted that the water provided to his brother was often contaminated, and the tunnels were low, preventing him from standing upright. He described the conditions as “among the most horrific imaginable.”

In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson for Hamas, Hazem Qassem, claimed that their treatment of the prisoners adhered to international laws and that they had provided food during times of famine in the Strip.

The spokesperson added that Or Levy’s situation was unique due to specific security concerns and insisted that other captives remained in good health despite difficult conditions.

Kept in the dark about current events, Or only learned of Einav’s death upon his release. “He was uncertain. He asked, and we shared the heartbreaking news,” Levy’s mother, Geula, mentioned in an interview with Israeli media.

While at the Nova festival, Almog, their two-year-old son, was being cared for by Einav’s parents. Michael noted the family wanted to gradually reintroduce Almog to Or, starting with phone conversations, then video calls, before an in-person meeting.

“We were concerned he might be scared or fail to recognize him, but it was as if they had never been apart,” Michael recounted.

When Almog asked his father why it took him so long to return, Or could only embrace him in response, struggling to find words. “How do you reply to that?” he pondered.

Or Levy’s harrowing experience was intertwined with that of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a notable Israeli-American hostage of Hamas. Both men took refuge in a bomb shelter alongside nearly 30 others on October 7, just before Hamas militants launched assaults with grenades.

At the time, 23-year-old Goldberg-Polin courageously tossed out grenades, but one detonated while in his hand, resulting in the loss of his arm below the elbow. Alongside Or and others, he was then taken in a pickup truck to Gaza.

Despite a high-profile initiative by his parents to secure the release of hostages, Goldberg-Polin was tragically killed by his captors in Gaza last August, as confirmed by the Israeli military shortly after discovering his remains.

Michael Levy revealed that his brother engaged in a significant conversation with the Goldberg-Polin family. “He had insights about their son they’d likely never heard before,” he said, although he did not disclose specifics.

The Goldberg-Polin family subsequently appealed to US President Donald Trump’s administration to expedite efforts to retrieve the remaining hostages, motivated by the alarming condition of Or Levy and the others released with him.

Each weekend’s hostage release sequence has morphed into a distressing propaganda tactic, featuring the liberated Israelis showcased publicly, with some receiving certificates and Hamas-branded gifts.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), tasked with transferring hostages from Hamas to the Israeli forces, expressed growing concern over the circumstances surrounding these releases, calling for dignity and privacy in future operations.

These dramatized releases have resulted in additional emotional distress for both hostages and the wider Israeli community. Recently, Hamas circulated a video that showcased two unreleased hostages, Eviatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal, observing the release of fellow Israelis before being hidden away again.

David and Gilboa-Dalal, who have been friends since childhood, were also captured during the Nova festival.

In a conversation with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, the brothers of the two hostages expressed their outrage over the “psychological torment” inflicted by Hamas.

“They appeared ill, terrified, and ghostly pale, almost yellow. They were pleading for assistance,” shared Ilay David, Eviatar’s sibling, after viewing the Hamas footage.

Gal Gilboa-Dalal, brother of Guy, remarked on how cruel it was for Hamas to allow the hostages to see daylight for what might be the first time in 15 months, only to take them back to confinement, saying it was utterly horrifying.

A recently released female hostage expressed her astonishment at the large crowd gathered in Gaza for her release.

“I expected to see many faces, but not quite that many,” Agam Berger, a soldier from Israel, stated in her first interview since her release, speaking to Israel’s Kan Radio.

During her time in captivity, Berger indicated that she received two meals daily, primarily consisting of rice, and mentioned occasional news access, including Al Jazeera and Kan Radio, Israel’s public broadcasting service.

“Overall, our food and living conditions were acceptable, given the circumstances,” she remarked. “In that moment, it felt right to be thankful. However, reflecting on it, those conditions were far from humane.”

Throughout the hostage releases, male prisoners appeared more emaciated than their female counterparts, indicating a disparity in their treatment.

Berger added that during her release, Hamas operatives “literally dressed me themselves to ensure I left nothing behind,” compelling her to abandon her sketchbooks filled with drawings, letters to her family, and a prayer book.

She recounted that she was made to wear a hijab during her transportation to the transfer site and was pressured to film videos in the vehicle, expressing gratitude and other scripted sentiments.