The four recently rescued Israeli hostages embracing loved ones, Ramat Gan, June 8, 2024. Photo: Israeli Army/Handout via Reuters

The doctor treating the four Israeli hostages who were rescued from Gaza over the weekend said they were abused in captivity “nearly every day.”

Dr. Itai Pessach, who works for Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv and is overseeing the treatment of the four rescued hostages, told CNN their time in captivity “left a significant mark on their health” despite looking normal externally.

“There have been periods where they got almost no food whatsoever,” he said. “They had no protein, so their muscles are extremely wasted, there is damage to some other systems because of that.”

According to initial assessments by Israel’s Health Ministry, the average hostage who was released during November’s temporary ceasefire and hostage deal lost between 17 and 33 pounds in just seven weeks.

“It was a harsh, harsh, experience, with a lot of abuse, almost every day,” Pessach added. ​​”Every hour, both physical, mental, and other types, and that is something that is beyond comprehension.”

This, combined with “medical neglect, being limited to space, not seeing the sun, and all of the other things, have [a] significant effect on health,” he said.

Further explaining the mental health aspect of being held hostage for such a long time, Pessach explained, “As time passes, hope of being released kind of decreases and you start wondering if this would ever end … losing that faith, I think, is where you get to the breaking point.”

Noa Argamani, Shlomi Ziv, Almog Meir Jan, and Andrey Kozlov were rescued from Hamas captivity on Saturday in a complex and dangerous mission taken on by the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) elite “Yamam” National Counter-Terrorism Unit. It specializes in hostage rescue missions and raids against enemy combatants in civilian areas.

In the raid, Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora was killed by Hamas terrorists and other Palestinians in the area after they opened fire on the IDF while trying to rescue the hostages. The mission was renamed “Operation Arnon” in honor of his sacrifice. The IDF called Zamora “a hero of Israel, a lover of the land and a protector.”

Previously released hostages have later detailed the abuse they faced while in Hamas’ hands.

In april, former hostages held by Hamas in Gaza recounted harrowing tales of sexual harassment and abuse in an emotional hearing at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

“As hard as it is to say, every girl there goes through sexual harassment one way or another,” said Mia Regev, who was freed in November after 50 days in captivity. Fighting back tears, she urged lawmakers to take action, saying, “Your job is to bring them back home.”

Days earlier, Amit Soussana, 40, from Kfar Aza, who was kidnapped on Oct. 7 and released as a part of the temporary ceasefire agreement, told the New York Times that she was sexually assaulted while a hostage.

She said one of her captors forced her to perform a “sexual act on him” while being held at gunpoint. 

“He sat me on the edge of the bath. And I closed my legs. And I resisted. And he kept punching me and put his gun in my face,” Soussana recounted. “Then he dragged me to the bedroom.”

A family member of 12-year-old freed hostage Eitan Yahalom detailed the abuse he faced during his 52 days being held by Hamas.

“Whenever a child hostage cried, the terrorists would threaten them with rifles to silence them,” the family member said. “Perhaps I was naïve, but I wanted to hope that they were treating him well. I was wrong. They are monsters.”

Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists abducted over 250 people during their Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel. There are currently over 100 hostages still in Gaza.