Ariane Ménage / Photo credits: MUSTAFA HASSONA / ANADOLU / ANADOLU VIA AFP
The ordeal of the Hamas hostages is taking shape little by little. A week after the end of the truce, the first testimonies from the hostages would emphasize that they were drugged before being handed over to the Israeli authorities, to appear happy and relaxed in front of the camera, and thus promote Hamas propaganda.
Two months after the Hamas attack on October 7 in Israel, which left around 1,200 dead, 138 people are still being held in the Gaza Strip, according to a latest count from the Jewish state. Last week, during a truce between the two belligerents, dozens of hostages were able to regain their freedom. But according to the latest information, the returned hostages were drugged by Hamas, to appear more relaxed in front of the cameras.
It was first the families of these hostages who spoke about it. Then, this Tuesday, a doctor responsible for the Ministry of Health attested to this before a committee of the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament. “What we noticed was that they took pills to improve their condition,” he explains.
Growing concern among families
Objective: for them to look peaceful, happy even in the photos. “Is this part of psychological terror?” asks a deputy. “Yes,” replies the doctor, but does not specify whether blood tests complete the testimonies. She mentions sedatives better known in France under the name Rivotril, administered, according to her, before the liberations.
Each of these releases had been carefully filmed by Hamas and disseminated by the movement’s propaganda. The families of these newly released hostages are therefore testifying little by little. But many of them still have relatives detained in Gaza. They therefore express their growing concern about their conditions of detention.