Released hostage Ofir Engel (18) still in hospital: “He went through hell” | Israel-Palestine conflict

Ofir Engel still remains in the children’s hospital in Petach Tikwa, near Tel Aviv. “We don’t know exactly when he will be allowed to leave the hospital,” says his aunt. Ofir’s parents and sisters are checking with the doctors from hour to hour whether he can go home. His physical condition is still good, but certainly not ‘very’ good, according to Yael.

Ofir was kidnapped by Hamas from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7 while visiting his girlfriend. During his captivity, Ofir turned 18 and was granted Dutch nationality at an accelerated pace. He and his family are partly of Dutch descent.

Ofir, especially psychologically, is far from being the same, Yael sees. “It was a dramatic time that he spent 54 days there. When he woke up in the hospital on Thursday, he whispered. That’s so hard to hear, he was just afraid to talk. Hamas told him: if he talks, Israeli planes would find him and kill him.”

The story is reminiscent of the testimony of the father of the released Emily Hand (9). Earlier this week, he told the British tabloid The Sun that Emily has become used to whispering and that she no longer knows how to stop. Although Ofir was not hit, according to his family, more testimonies are now emerging that Hamas did use violence while holding hostages. For example, children were allegedly beaten and branded after being kidnapped.

During Ofir’s captivity in Gaza, he was with other hostages, including his girlfriend’s father, who is still being held. According to grandfather Jucha, he found a lot of support from another boy from Kibbutz Be’eri.

What Ofir visibly does well is seeing his girlfriend Yuval again. Channel 12, the largest Israeli news channel, frequently broadcasts the emotional reunion between the two. He also celebrated the Sabbath, the holy day of rest in Judaism, yesterday, while he was serenaded along with other released hostages.

Now that the fighting in Gaza has started again, more releases do not seem to be an option for the time being. Yael doesn’t know what the best method is to free the hostages. She herself has friends with children in the army, so she does not underestimate the importance of the fighting in Gaza. She refers to the terrorist attack in Jerusalem, where three Israelis were murdered on Thursday morning. “One of the Hamas terrorists comes from a village fifty meters from our kibbutz.”

Yael: “Our battle is not over yet. Everyone must go home and the Israeli government must do everything it can. I know how families feel. I know Ofir has been through hell. When I saw him his eyes were so empty, I don’t know how else to describe it.”

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