The war between Israel and Hamas: what do we know about the conditions of detention of the released French hostages

Relief is still tinged with anxiety for the future. This Monday evening, Erez and Sahar Calderon, 12 and 16 years old, and Eitan Yahalomi, 12 years old, were released by Hamas after 52 days of captivity as part of a truce agreement with Israel. Upon their return to Israeli territory, they were met by relatives and taken to the hospital, where they were able to spend the night with their mothers.

There is little news yet, but it seems good, at least on a physical level.

How are the young hostages doing?

The indirect news is “good,” Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on RTL on Tuesday morning. The three French-Israelis were subject to “classic medical observation, as always in such cases,” she said, but they “appear to have experienced nothing beyond what might constitute detention in terms of psychological shock, the difficulties of everyday life.” – continued the head of diplomacy. “Everything is good for now.”

Erez and Sugar Calderon are “feeling well physically, except for malnutrition,” relatives confirmed to Le Parisien on Tuesday morning.

Deborah Cohen, young Eitan’s aunt, said she was “concerned” about the psychological state of her nephew, who was kidnapped in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks inside Israel. “I think physically he is fine, although he is thin. But I think he’s not feeling well. He has a long way to go,” she told multiple media outlets Tuesday morning.

Were they treated poorly?

At the moment, the news, as the minister clarified, is indirect. “The kids really went through hell. They went through mental torture, very, very difficult experiences,” relatives Erez and Sahar Calderon told Le Parisien.

Deborah Cohen, young Eitan’s aunt, said she received some details from her sister, the boy’s mother, who was able to spend the night with him in the hospital. According to her, the child “survived horrors.” In particular, the boy was “forced to watch a film” about the October 7 attack, he assured his mother. “Every time the child cried, they threatened him with a gun,” he also admitted.

She also assures several media outlets, including BFMTV and RTL, that the boy “was attacked by the population” upon his arrival in the Gaza Strip.

What were the conditions of their detention?

Again, it’s too early to reveal all the details, but according to Deborah Cohen, “Eitan was obviously treated poorly.” According to the information she has, the 12-year-old boy spent part of the detention alone, and part of it “accompanied, in particular, by people from the kibbutz” who were abducted on the same day as him, but not together with his father. Ohad Yahalomi (49 years old), still in custody in the Gaza Strip. Ofer Calderon (53), Erez and Sahar’s father, who was also kidnapped, also did not return.

In terms of daily life, several hostages released in recent days have reported – again through indirect testimony – poor hygiene conditions, lack of food and lack of comfort. “They didn’t have enough food, they didn’t wash,” Deborah Cohen said about this. And only on the last day before liberation, Eitan was given “new clothes.”