First testimonies: Dekel-Chen was tortured by Hamas, didn’t know his family survived; Troufanov didn’t know his father was murdered

Channels 12, 13, and Kan TV tonight carry bits of information from today’s freed hostages that they have conveyed to their families and that the military censor has permitted for publication.

Among the key details:

All three of the hostages freed today endured “very harsh captivity, including physical abuse.”

All three were very hungry when released. All three have learned Arabic in captivity.

Sagui Dekel-Chen and Iair Horn were held together, and with other hostages, in recent days. For most of their captivity, they were in tunnels.

They were held with other hostages and have returned with signs of life regarding at least three.

Both men were wounded when they were abducted and suffered abuse that exacerbated their injuries.

Sasha Troufanov was held alone.

All three were held in Khan Younis, from where they were freed today, mere hundreds of meters from their homes on Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Iair Horn has told his family that he and his brother Eitan were held together early in their captivity, but not recently. He has said Eitan is injured in the leg. He was compelled by his captors to film a video in which he talks about Eitan, Kan reports.

He has lost tens of kilograms in weight, and received almost no medical treatment.

His captors gave Horn an hourglass with a picture of Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage, which the IDF intends to give to her, according to Kan.

Dekel-Chen was “tortured during interrogations” by his captors, Channel 12 reports. He has scars on his body, the report says.

He was held in a Gaza hospital for the first few weeks of his captivity along with other hostages, Kan reports. One of them was Itzik Elgarat.

The report says that Dekel-Chen knew nothing about what had become of his family for the entire time he was held hostage. He was completely cut off from all media. “He both mourned and cried” for his family, and also “held out hope for them and was optimistic.”

He only found out two days ago that he was going to be released.

Kan says Dekel-Chen’s captors told him, apparently shortly before his release, that he had a daughter born while he was in captivity, and gave him earrings for his wife. Dekel-Chen didn’t believe what they told him, and asked the IDF representatives he met on his release to confirm it.

Dekel-Chen was wounded in his shoulder on October 7, 2023, but told the IDF representatives it was not important, and that “the most important thing is that I meet my family already.”

In recent hours, he reunited with his daughters, the Channel 12 report says.

Sasha Troufanov did not know that his father was killed on October 7 and burst into tears when told today by IDF representatives.

He barely saw TV or heard the radio in captivity. He did not know that his family was struggling to get him released. But he did hear the radio at the time of the first truce in November 2023 and learned that his mother and girlfriend had been freed.