Freed Israeli hostage describes 'hell' of abduction by Hamas

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An elderly Israeli hostage who was released by Hamas overnight said she was beaten by militants as she was taken into Gaza on Oct. 7, as her husband's whereabouts remain unknown.

Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, was freed late Monday along with 79-year-old Nurit Cooper, leaving around 220 hostages still in the hands of Hamas.

She was the first of four released hostages so far to speak publicly.

Seated in a wheelchair, a frail looking Lifshitz told reporters that her captors hit her with sticks as they took her by motorcycle into Gaza. There, they walked for a couple of kilometres in what Lifshitz described as a "spider web" of underground tunnels.

"I've been through hell," she said, assisted by her daughter, who translated her remarks from Hebrew to English.

Lifshitz and her 83-year old husband, Oded, were kidnapped from their home at the Nir Oz kibbutz, close to the border with Gaza in southern Israel, the Israeli prime minister's office said Monday. Oded remained captive, it added.

"They stormed into our homes. They beat people. They kidnapped others, the old and the young without distinction," she said, adding that her watch and jewelry were stolen.

A group of five people from her kibbutz were held together, each with an individual guard who stayed with them 24 hours a day. Lifshitz said a doctor visited them every other day and brought them the medicines they needed.

Video of her release on Monday showed her turning around to shake the hand of a masked captor. Asked why she had done that, she replied: "They treated us gently and met all our needs."

Hamas and other militants in Gaza are believed to have taken roughly 220 people, including an unconfirmed number of foreigners and dual citizens. More than 1,400 have been killed in Israel since an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, including several Canadians.

The Palestinian health ministry said the Gaza death toll in two weeks of Israeli airstrikes in response to the Oct. 7 attack is now over 5,790 people.

Israel's military dropped leaflets in Gaza on Tuesday, urging Palestinians to give them information about hostages being held by Hamas and offering them a reward and promising it "will invest maximum effort in providing security for you and your home."

"If your will is to live in peace and to have a better future for your children, do the humanitarian deed immediately and share verified and valuable information about hostages being held in your area," the military said in the leaflet.