85-year-old hostage kidnapped from kibbutz says she went ‘through hell’ during 17 days in Gaza

Yocheved Lifschitz says she was fed white cheese and cucumber by her captives

An 85-year-old hostage freed from Hamas captivity has described how she had “gone through hell” in her 17 days in Gaza after being taken from her kibbutz on the back of a motorcycle.

Yocheved Lifschitz, who was released yesterday alongside 79-year-old Nurit Cooper, told how she had been kidnapped from the Nir Oz Kibbutz during the attacks on 7 October on a motorbike and driven into Gaza through a gate. She said she had suffered bruises during her capture and struggled to breathe.

The women’s husbands are still missing and are believed to remain in captivity. Two American-Israelis, mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan, were also freed on Friday, while a further 200 hostages still remain in Gaza.

The military wing of Hamas has released a video which it says shows Yocheved Lifshitz (left) and Nurit Cooper with their captors and then being handed over to the International Red Cross.

This comes as the number of British people killed in the conflict in Israel and Gaza has risen to ten, officials have said, while a further six people remain missing – believed also to be being held hostage in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the death toll in Gaza rose past 5,000, as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to take an "iron fist" to Hamas, hitting 400 targets in the strip in the past 24 hours.

In a press conference held in Israel, Ms Lifschitz said she was held with others in a “spiders’ web of tunnels”, sleeping on mattresses on the floor.

She said the hostages were given white cheese and cucumber to eat – the same food eaten by their Hamas hostage takers – and were held in clean conditions. She said the hostages were visited every couple of days by a doctor and one captive, who had been injured in a motorcycle accident, was brought medicines by a paramedic.

London-based British-Israeli Sharon Lifschitz, pictured here before her 85-year-old mother was released from being held hostage by Hamas.

However, her daughter, Sharone Lifschitz, who travelled to Tel Aviv last night from London to visit her mother in hospital, said she had told her she and her fellow captives were hit with sticks.

She added her mother had told her they "believe in the Quran" and therefore would not hurt her.

Earlier, Ms Lifschitz said her mother wanted to share information with families about the well being of other hostages she had been held with.

"The nurses are just having a chat, they say she is very sharp and is very keen to share the information, pass on the information to families of other hostages that she was with,” she said.

"I'm a bit speechless. I sat next to her for like an hour and then we came out and my brother is with her. Everybody is so tired. She's been through a lot."

Sharone adds: "To see my mum again is an incredible thing. To hold her hand, just to kiss her face, and her cheek, and I'm so proud of her, she's amazing."

Video footage of the hostages’ release into the hands of the International Red Cross seemed to show her briefly holding the hand of one of the hostage takers.

"The way she walked off and then came back and then said thank you was quite incredible to me. It's so her,” said Ms Lifschitz.

Speaking during her flight ahead of the reunion, Ms Lifschitz said she was still worried for her father.

Yosef Guedalia, a 22-year-old British Israeli soldier was confirmed at the weekend as having died during a battle with Hamas gunmen in a kibbutz.

His brother, Asher, paid tribute to him as having “acted with heroism and determination”.

UK government minister Victoria Atkins said the government “understands” that the six British citizens still missing after the Hamas attacks on Israel two weeks ago are in Gaza.

"We understand - and I'm being very careful because we know how important accuracy of words is in this context - but we understand that they are hostages," she said.

"They are our absolute priority."