Hamas prison guards drugged hostage children

Many of the more than 200 people taken hostage in the terrorist-branded Hamas coordinated attack on Israel on October 7 suffered severe physical and psychological abuse of a previously unknown scale during their time in captivity.

This is what psychiatrist Renana Eitan, who specializes in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the Sourasky Medical Center-Ichilov in Tel Aviv, tells The Guardian.

According to Eitan, who is currently treating 14 of those released from hostages, several children have been drugged with, among other things, ketamine by their jailers. Probably to keep them calm.

– In some cases, the adults in the hostages were forced to give the drugs to the children, she tells the newspaper.

Some of the children have suffered withdrawal symptoms after their release, and many women testify about sexual abuse they were subjected to, according to the psychiatrist.

– They have a long way to go.

“Became psychotic”

One woman was kept locked in a small cage during captivity, while another suffered a mental breakdown after being kept in total darkness for several days, according to Renana Eitan.

– They became psychotic and began to hallucinate, she says.

There are also reports of self-injurious behavior, and some of those released testify that they suffer from suicidal thoughts after their time in captivity.

At the end of November, pictures were cabled to the world’s media of scenes of joy as people held hostage by Hamas were reunited with their families in Israel.

But according to Eitan, the images hide a much darker reality.

– When they first came back, they seemed very happy and relieved, and we were also very optimistic. But after a couple of days we saw another side, she says.

– We realized that they are tormented by terrible nightmares and memories, and that they are terribly afraid.

New challenge for doctors

According to Eitan, many of the hostages also suffer from so-called dissociative disorders after their time in captivity.

– One moment they know they are back in Israel and the next they are terrified, as they believe they are still being held hostage, she says.

The children held captive by Hamas present a new challenge to Israeli doctors, according to psychologist Avigal Snir, who is in charge of the PTSD unit at Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Petah Tikva.

“Unfortunately, there was already knowledge in Israel about helping children with symptoms of PTSD,” he tells Reuters.

– But when we had to treat the children who came back from captivity from Gaza, we ended up in a new situation. Because there is no previous experience here.