The family of one of the hostages rescued in an Israeli operation over the weekend has disclosed the psychological abuse suffered by their loved one at the hands of Hamas captors during his eight-month captivity in Gaza.
Andrey Kozlov, a 27-year-old Russian citizen who had moved to Israel nearly two years ago, was among the hostages rescued in a daring raid on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The operation, which marked only the third Israeli rescue of hostages in Gaza, was met with jubilation in Israel. However, it also resulted in significant casualties, with Gaza authorities reporting at least 274 Palestinian deaths during the raid and subsequent clashes with Hamas militants.
Kozlov and the other hostages were held in two civilian buildings within the densely populated territory. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) explained that the simultaneous raid on both buildings was necessary to prevent the captors from harming the hostages upon realizing an operation was underway.
Kozlov, who was working as a security guard at the Nova music festival when he was abducted and taken into Gaza on October 7, shared some harrowing details of his ordeal with his family. Among them was his initial fear that the Israeli forces rescuing him were actually there to harm him.
