Just over two weeks after his rescue, Yosef Chaim Ohana, one of the longest-held Israeli hostages in Gaza, gave a harrowing interview about his two-year nightmare in Hamas captivity. He described beatings, starvation in underground tunnels, and attempts to convert him to Islam.
Speaking to Channel 12’s Amit Segal, Ohana spent nearly 11 months in a cramped, airless tunnel passage never meant for humans. He detailed psychological torment, physical collapse, and a deepening spiritual connection.“Every single day, I spoke to God,” Ohana said. “Not just asking to go home, but about the pain, the fear, the people with me. There wasn’t always someone to talk to. So I talked to Him.”
The Early Chaos: Running Through Bombed Streets
Ohana called the first months the most brutal.“We were moved from house to house. No plan. They didn’t know where to go. We’d be in a building, hear bombing, and run into the street with nothing,” he said. “One time, they bring food. We barely take a bite. Then bang on the iron door. That was the signal: the building’s about to collapse. We run 50 meters, look back. The house is gone.”
He walked through Gaza’s streets in disguise, separated from captors to avoid detection.“They were terrified someone would grab me and they’d get nothing. So I walked on one side of the street, them on the other.”
Life in the Tunnels: "A Passage, Not a Room"
For nearly a year, Ohana was held with hostages Ohad Ben Ami and others in a narrow, dead-end section of a transit tunnel.“It wasn’t meant for people. Just a slightly wider spot in the corridor. Blocked at the end. They just threw us in.”
Food was scarce and often contaminated.“We ate things I never thought I’d touch. Worms. They said, ‘It’s protein.’ Not because we wanted to. They were on the food.”
Hunger became mental as much as physical.“There’s physical hunger. Your body needs food. Then there’s mental hunger: the terror that food won’t come. You get a portion after 20 hours and don’t eat it, because you’re afraid you’ll be starving later. You act crazy.”
Captors used a flickering light like a rat experiment. Clicking the power on and off signaled meals. Hostages debated who had the best rapport to beg for extra.
