The aunt of a 12-year-old French-Israeli boy released by Hamas said on French television on November 28 that the boy had suffered “horror” during his time as a hostage, including being beaten by Palestinian civilians and threatened with weapons by Hamas fighters.

Under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas released a total of 50 hostages, and in exchange, Israel released about 150 Palestinians it had been holding in prison.

Eitan Yahalomi, who had been abducted by Hamas, was released on the 27th along with two other French-Israelis. His aunt, Deborah Cohen, told France’s BFM television news program that Eitan had “experienced horror.”

“When he arrived in the Gaza Strip, he was beaten by civilians. He was just 12 years old,” Cohen said, citing Eitan’s mother.

While in detention, he said he was “forced to watch videos of atrocities committed by Hamas during the cross-border attack into Israel on October 7” and “whenever he cried, he was silenced with threats of weapons.”

“I wanted to believe that Eitan was being treated decently, but apparently not. These people are monsters,” he continued.

Regarding Eitan’s release, he explained, “He was overjoyed yesterday,” but “after hearing all this he is worried. His father is still being held hostage.”

“How can a person recover from something like that? It’s a long road.”

“Eitan is a quiet boy and takes a while to express his emotions,” she said. (c)AFP