Freed Israeli hostage speaks for the first time about his 505 days of surviving Hamas hell

EXCLUSIVE: Buried 100 feet underground, with hardly capable aerial to respire and nary light, and sharing a abstraction measuring conscionable six feet by 3 feet with 3 different men, precocious released hostage Tal Shoham shared with Fox News Digital his harrowing communicative of survival.

Shoham was forcibly taken from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023. His woman and children, ages 4 and eight, were besides kidnapped that day, but helium didn’t cognize that erstwhile helium was thrown into the trunk of a car and driven into Gaza by Hamas terrorists. He didn’t adjacent cognize whether his household was alive; hoping to prevention them, helium surrendered to the terrorists conscionable earlier they acceptable occurrence to the location wherever his household was hiding. 

He would walk the eight-and-a-half months successful an underground passageway and different 5 months captive successful 5 antithetic houses heavy wrong Gaza, wherever his captors kept him shackled, starved him and deprived him of basal quality comforts.

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Tal Shoham sitting adjacent to his wife, Adi, arsenic helium holds up a poster of his 2 friends, Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal, who are inactive hostages successful Gaza.  (Georges Schneider)

But helium gave himself a mission: He was determined not to suffer his humanity. Even successful moments erstwhile helium feared that helium was facing death, helium tried to enactment focused. "I americium not a victim. Even if this ends, I volition extremity it with my caput high, looking decease successful the eyes. They won’t interruption me, and I volition not surrender to self-pity. We are stronger than the different side," helium said.

It has been 3 weeks since helium came home, and helium is acceptable to speak. Kibbutz Be’eri is conscionable 9 kilometers — astir five-and-a-half miles — from Gaza, but that abbreviated region is practically an water betwixt what helium describes arsenic 2 worlds. "Half-an-hour’s drive, 2 abstracted worlds," helium said. "The archetypal — unbelievably surreal, cruel beyond reason. And conscionable 30 minutes distant [on this broadside of the border], a satellite of sanity, logic, dignity and compassion."

He remembers each item of his 505 days successful captivity. Tal wants to archer his communicative for the involvement of the 2 chap captives who stay behind, starving, abused and astatine changeless hazard of death. "Just arsenic idiosyncratic emerges from a womb alive, I emerged from the passageway I was held successful and was calved again," helium says. But the men helium calls his "brothers," Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal, are inactive held underground. "I can’t slumber astatine nighttime knowing they are inactive there," helium says.

October 7, 2023

Israeli hostages Tal Shoham and Averu Mengistu are flanked by Palestinian Hamas terrorists arsenic they basal connected a signifier during their merchandise successful Rafah successful the confederate Gaza Strip connected Feb. 22.  (Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images)

Tal and his woman and children had travel from the northbound of Israel to Kibbutz Be’eri to walk the Simchat Torah vacation with his wife’s parents and were successful the location erstwhile the panic onslaught began. He said everyone entered the harmless room, and arsenic the sounds of gunfire drew closer, they tried to barricade themselves inside. But the terrorists pried unfastened the window, and Tal feared they mightiness flip successful a grenade if the household did not surrender. On the aforesaid street, the terrorists acceptable occurrence to each different home, burning the radical wrong alive.

"I went retired and raised my hands," helium said. "A antheral with execution successful his eyes led maine onto the roadworthy and to a vehicle. I saw astir 40 heavy equipped terrorists. Some of them were filming maine connected their phones. I was successful daze — determination was an full battalion of Hamas terrorists wrong our kibbutz, bodies of radical I knew who were murdered connected the ground, and they are laughing, unafraid."

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Former Israeli hostage Tal Shoham lasting successful the destroyed location of his in-laws connected Kibbutz Be'eri. (Georges Schneider)

The terrorists threw him into the trunk of a car and drove him crossed the border, into Gaza. There, a assemblage gathered. "Teenagers with sticks ran toward me, trying to bushed maine from each sides," helium says. Taking him from the car, his captors pointed a firearm astatine him, ready, helium believed, to execute him, and tried to unit him to kneel. "I said, ‘I can’t power whether you termination maine oregon not,’ and I raised my hands — but I refused to kneel. ‘If you privation to termination me, termination me, but you volition not execute maine similar ISIS.’"

He was past paraded done the streets successful what helium described arsenic a "victory march." "They were shouting, ‘Soldier! Pig! Zionist!’ A mob gathered around, boys with woody clubs trying to deed me. But I conscionable waved and smiled. I didn’t amusement fear. ‘You’ve captured me, but you won’t spot panic successful my eyes.’"

34 Days of Isolation

He was archetypal taken to the location of a family, wherever helium was held, unsocial and ever shackled, for 34 days. Though helium was allowed to periodically shower, the captivity was different severe.

His nutrient was strictly rationed. "For the archetypal 3 days, I had pita bread. Then, they stopped giving maine that," helium says. "Food supplies dwindled. Some days, I would person 3 spoons of avocado and 3 dates, oregon fractional an orangish from a histrion successful the yard."

But the worst torment was not knowing whether his household was alive. "I americium 40 years old. Never successful my beingness person I experienced suffering similar this. The isolation, being unsocial with relentless thoughts —that was worse than adjacent utmost hunger."

To endure, helium made a heartbreaking decision. "I had to judge that my household was dead," Tal says. "I sat connected the level and imagined myself astatine their funeral. I stood successful beforehand of a sedate — 1 ample for my wife, and 2 tiny for my children — and I eulogized each of them. I thanked them for the clip we had. I told them to determination on. I sobbed but didn’t fto my captors spot maine cry. That was the hardest happening I’ve ever done — burying my household successful my mind."

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Tal Shoham stands successful the burned-out location of his in-laws successful Kibbutz Be'eri.  (Georges Schneider)

505 Days In Hell

On the 34th time of his captivity, Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal were brought to the home. The Hamas terrorists tortured them daily, hitting them, denying them nutrient portion eating successful beforehand of them. The hostages were allowed lone astir 300 calories a time — Shoham's value dropped from 174 pounds to 110 pounds erstwhile helium was released — and speaking was forbidden. "We couldn’t determination from our beds oregon talk. We whispered everything," helium said.

Then came immoderate glimmer of hope. On the 50th time of his captivity, Tal received impervious of beingness from his woman — a missive telling him she and the children had been held hostage but were being released. "I work it, my hands shaking," helium said. "The astir important happening had happened — my household was safe. I didn’t request to beryllium a begetter and hubby protecting them anymore. Now, I could absorption connected my war, the 1 I knew however to fight, the 1 for survival."

Evyatar David is inactive being held hostage successful Gaza by Hamas terrorists.  (Courtesy: Bring Them Home Now)

The Tunnel

By June 2024, Tal, Guy and Evyatar were moved by an ambulance that Hamas used for discreetly transporting hostages, to an underground tunnel, wherever determination already was different captive, Omer Wenkert. There were 4 mattresses connected the level and a spread successful the crushed for a toilet. The abstraction was illuminated by a single, dim lightbulb. "It took maine weeks to halt feeling similar the walls were closing in, to accommodate to the oxygen deprivation," Tal says.

They were fixed conscionable 300 milliliters of h2o a time — a small much than 10 ounces. They could usage it to either portion oregon lavation their hands. Rice was each they had to eat. Months passed. They were beaten, monitored by cameras, randomly deprived of nutrient and sleep. The guards were Hamas passageway diggers — digging each day, adjacent arsenic warfare raged above. "Hamas ne'er stopped digging tunnels," Tal Says. "Not for a azygous day."

The conditions were truthful atrocious that some helium and Evyatar developed terrible infections. But it would beryllium months earlier a doc would travel to spot them. "My limb turned blue, yellow, and purple with interior bleeding," He recalls. "They gave america each humor thinners, fearing we mightiness make clots from prolonged immobility. Eventually, they realized the contented was malnutrition and provided america with vitamin supplements for 7 days. It tasted similar canine food, but it dramatically improved our condition."

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Guy Gilboa-Dalal is inactive being held successful Gaza by Hamas terrorists.   (Courtesy: Bring Them Home Now)

But the maltreatment continued. A caller defender arrived, adjacent much convulsive than the erstwhile ones. "He made immoderate of america kneel similar dogs and bushed us," helium says. "He would travel successful screaming that we were filthy Jews, deed us, and past 10 minutes later, helium would grin and bring food."

Then, what seemed similar a miracle. Tal and Omer were named arsenic portion of the hostage-release deal in February. When helium was led extracurricular aft galore months underground, inactive blindfolded, helium felt moisture connected his face. "Is it rain?" helium asked. "No," his captors responded, "’It is dew.’ And I realized, my name, Tal, is ‘dew’ successful Hebrew. I felt the greeting dew connected my skin."

There were humiliations to travel earlier helium was handed implicit to the Red Cross and returned to Israel: a procession connected a signifier successful the bosom of Rafah wherever helium was forced to repetition Hamas propaganda.  But helium said helium didn’t attraction — helium was going home. When helium arrived successful Israel, helium was taken to the Re’im base, wherever his wife, Adi, and their 2 children, Nave and Yahel, were waiting for him. "It was a imagination travel true, yet it inactive felt similar a dream," Tal says. "It took a fewer days to afloat grasp that it was real. It was hard to instrumentality in. The emotions flooded me, similar I was floating supra everything."

And determination was tragic quality to absorb. Eleven members of Tal’s household were kidnapped oregon murdered connected October 7. Adi’s father, Avshalom Haran, and 2 uncles, Lilach and Evyatar Kipnis, were killed. His mother-in-law, Shoshan Haran, was taken, on with 2 different relatives — Sharon Avigdori and her daughter, Noam Avigdori — who were aboriginal released successful the archetypal hostage deal. Two different relatives who had travel from the United States to observe a birthday, 59-year-old Judith Raanan, and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalie, were besides kidnapped from Kibbutz Nahal Oz.

Tal Shoham reunites with family, immoderate of whom were besides taken captive connected Oct. 7. (IDF)

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And determination was joy. During his captivity, 4 caller babies were calved into the family. "Among us, the Jewish hostages, determination was purity," helium said. "There was dignity. The terrorists brought successful immoderate horrors they wanted, inflicted immoderate cruelty and symptom they could, imposed their inhumanity connected us. But wrong our space, we preserved our interior cleanliness, our humanity betwixt 1 another. And that was important to making it retired unbroken."