Hamas Terrorists Branded Child Hostages: Report

Hamas terrorists reportedly branded child hostages they took in their Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, in the latest horrific account detailing the captives' experience with the group.

"They told us stories about what they went through inside Gaza. The stories are horrible," said Yaniv Yaakov, uncle of 12-year-old Yagil Yaakov and 16-year-old Or Yaakov, the Times of Israel reported Thursday. "Each child that was taken by Hamas was taken on a motorbike, and they took every child, took his leg and put it on the exhaust of that motorbike, so they have a burn, so they will be marked if they run, if they escape, so [Hamas] can find them."

Yagil and Or Yaakov were released Monday as part of a now-expired temporary truce between Israel and the terrorist group. Their uncle, speaking with Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen in North Macedonia, added that the boys were "drugged" and "treated so badly."

Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett echoed the report on X, formerly Twitter. Asked for a source, he replied, "The children and their scars."

The boys' mother, Renana Gome, recounted in late October that she heard them on the phone as they hid in the safe room of their house in a southern Israel village during the attacks. The older Or Yaakov attempted to hold the door closed, but terrorists overpowered him, she said. The last thing she heard over the phone was the younger Yagil Yaakov saying, "Don't take me. I'm too young."

Their father, Yair Yaakov, remains in captivity.

As Hamas has freed their captives, reports have emerged detailing the treatment they received at the hands of the terrorists. Some hostages received beatings with sticks during their abductions, and many arrived at hospitals suffering from electrolyte imbalances and malnutrition.

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