A mother of one of the four Hamas hostages rescued by Israeli forces during an operation last weekend spoke about the "very strange rules" her son said the terrorists made him live by.
Evgeniia Kozlova, whose son Andrey Kozlov was one the hostages abducted by Hamas terrorists during their attack on Israel on Oct. 7, spoke to Reuters about her first conversation with her son after his rescue.
"For a few minutes I probably didn't know how to react," Kozlova said. "But then I started laughing. And I've been laughing all the time ever since. I'm absolutely happy."
She noted the surge of emotions she felt in speaking with her son about the ordeal.
"It was both hard and joyful, and wonderful, and terrible because he was in a huge emotional turmoil."
Kozlova then told Reuters about the odd rules the terrorists made her son obey.
"He told us that they were required to follow some very strange rules, like you can't sit with your legs towards these terrorists. You can't do this, and you can't do that," she said.
"You could be punished for getting the wrong water or getting it from the wrong place."
Andrey also told his mother about the things the terrorists would yell at him.
"They liked to tell them: 'You're an animal, you're a donkey, you're a fool, you're dirty," Kozlova said. "Andrey now knows these words perfectly well in Arabic, everything about Arabic swear words he has learnt well."
Kozlova also remarked that her son said that some things he will "never tell" his family.
“Thank you to you, thank you” says rescued Israeli hostage Andrey Kozlov to PM @netanyahu, as he adds, almost in disbelief “what is happening!” pic.twitter.com/VxNYNLouSM
— Arsen Ostrovsky 🎗️ (@Ostrov_A) June 8, 2024
"I don't know what he didn't tell us and what he doesn't want to ever tell us," Kozlova said.
On top of these bizarre rules the terrorists imposed on the hostages. Dr. Itai Pessach, the doctor in charge of treating the hostages, described the brutality Hamas inflicted on the hostages.
“It was a harsh, harsh, experience, with a lot of abuse, almost every day,” Dr. Pessach said to CNN. “Every hour, both physical, mental, and other types, and that is something that is beyond comprehension.”
Pessach noted that "the combination of the psychological stress, malnutrition or not getting enough food or not getting the right kind of food, medical neglect, being limited to space, not seeing the sun and all of the other things" the hostages suffered had a "significant effect" on their health.
Kozlov's parents told the news media, "He told us that for two months they were tied by their hands and feet. In the first few weeks, their hands were tied behind their backs, and when they started tying their hands in front, they joked that it was a gift from the terrorists."
The terrorists also taunted the hostages, saying things like, "Israel has forgotten you," "Israel wants to get rid of you," "Your mother has gone on vacation in Greece, we saw it on the news," "Your wife is dating someone else," and, "Be quiet because Israel is listening and wants to destroy you, you are a problem for Israel and it's much easier to solve it by killing you than by rescuing you."
The parents of Andrey Kozlov, one of the four hostages rescued by the IDF on Saturday, reveal more details of the physical and psychological torture he endured in captivity:
"He told us that for two months they were tied by their hands and feet. In the first few weeks, their… pic.twitter.com/SntZRGwUOV
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) June 12, 2024
Luckily, these hostages are now getting the medical care they need and are reunited with their families once again. The barbaric treatment of these prisoners offers yet another example of the atrocities of Hamas as the war enters its ninth month.
It should also serve as a wake-up call to anyone who supports the terrorist organization. This is what they're really supporting: a group that kidnaps and tortures civilians with no remorse.
To be fair, Hamas is not the first to inhumanely treat hostages during wartime. U.S. soldiers infamously tortured Iraqi prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison during the Iraq War.
There's no excuse for the actions of those soldiers. What they did was awful.
There's a difference, however, between how Americans and supporters of Hamas responded when their side committed atrocities.
Both the U.S. government and its citizens were appalled by the actions of the Abu Ghraib soldiers, condemned what they did and threw them in jail.
Yet, have supporters of Hamas responded similarly to the actions of the terrorists?
No.
This is why Hamas is such a dangerous organization. They will commit unspeakable acts, and show no remorse for what they've done. In many instances, they actually celebrate their brutality.
These are the people the pro-Hamas crowd wants to rule over the Palestinians. But why would anyone want these people in power?
