Israel hostage rescue: Families of freed captives detail abuse in Hamas captivity
The families of rescued Israeli hostages described the psychological abuse and physical punishment they endured in Hamas captivity before the raid to free them from Gaza.
TEL AVIV — He thought they had come to kill him.
Instead, Andrey Kozlov’s parents recounted in an emotional interview Thursday, Israeli commandos stormed the Gaza building where he was being held in a daring raid to free their son from eight months of Hamas captivity.
His mother was similarly uncertain when she got the call from her Israeli military liaison. “I was afraid it was bad news,” Evgeniia Kozlova said. Just moments later, she recalls, “I was full of happiness.”
NBC News sat down with the Kozlovs and the uncle of Almog Meir Jan in Tel Aviv. The family members of the rescued Israeli hostages described how they learned of the news and what they have learned since then about their loved ones’ time in Hamas captivity — including what the Kozlovs said was psychological abuse.
Rating: 5