DISGUSTING: Beaten, Caged, and Starved: What Yarden Bibas and other hostages went through in Captivity
After 484 grueling days in the hands of Hamas, three hostages—Yarden Bibas, Ofer Calderon, and Keith Siegel—were finally freed in a daring release. The horrors they endured during their captivity in Gaza paint a chilling picture of physical and psychological torture, starvation, and constant fear.


The men were repeatedly moved between tunnels and apartments in Gaza, often subjected to beatings, handcuffed for long stretches, and confined in cages as punishment for "opposing the terrorists." The terror was compounded by relentless psychological abuse, particularly for Yarden Bibas, who was taunted with false reports about the fate of his family. Terrorists told him that his wife, Shiri, and young children, Kfir and Ariel, had died in an Israeli airstrike.
For the first days of captivity, Yarden and Ofer were held together in Khan Younis, where they were subjected to violent physical and mental abuse. They were locked in cages and denied food, surviving on scraps, sometimes just a piece of bread and an olive. Yarden, a 35-year-old father, found solace in learning Arabic to survive mentally. Ofer Calderon, 54, faced similar torment. Despite his age, he was treated like a reservist, which led to his release in a mock IDF uniform, mirroring the treatment of previously freed soldiers.
Keith Segal, a 65-year-old American-Israeli, was moved between Gaza City, tunnels, and apartments during his captivity. Locked away in hidden rooms, he faced severe food deprivation, with his last meal coming just a day before his release. "The lack of food was severe," Keith later said. "I returned starved, having not eaten since Friday afternoon." Despite being a vegetarian, he was forced to eat the meat provided to him by the terrorists in order to survive.
For months, Keith was also tormented by uncertainty about the fate of his son, Shai, who was with him in Kfar Azza on October 7, 2023. Keith said that he learned his son was alive when he heard him on the radio. The relief was immense, but it also heightened the anguish of not knowing for so long.
The three men were also exposed to the media, watching protests in Israel for their release, which fueled their hope. "It gave us strength," they later shared, acknowledging how the constant fight for their freedom helped them survive the darkest days.
Yarden and Ofer, during the early days of captivity, were regularly moved from place to place. They endured physical and mental torture, including being locked in cages. "The first few weeks were the worst," Yarden recalled, detailing how they were beaten and mentally tormented. The two men were moved between underground tunnels and buildings and held alongside other hostages.
After their harrowing ordeal, all three men returned to Israel, their physical conditions frail but their spirits unbroken. Keith's niece, Tal Wax, expressed both relief and concern: "We're excited to have him home, but seeing the condition he's in breaks our hearts." Despite the toll it took on their bodies, the men’s resilience stands as a testament to their will to survive against all odds.
Yarden's cousin, Oriah, spoke of the hope that their ordeal would eventually be behind them: "One day we hope to see him smile again." The painful journey of Yarden, Ofer, and Keith continues as they now face the difficult road of recovery, both physically and mentally. But their survival, and eventual freedom, serves as a powerful reminder of the cruelty of captivity and the unbreakable strength of the human spirit.