Grandmother released as a hostage kept in a ‘spider web’ of tunnels

A grandmother released as a hostage by Hamas terrorists has told how she was kept in a “spider web” of tunnels underneath Gaza by Hamas during her captivity.

Translating for her mother, Sharone Lifschitz told a press conference in Tel Aviv: “She was taken on the back of a motorbike, with her legs on one side and her head on the other side.

“That she was taken through the ploughed fields with the men in front, on one side, and a man behind her. And while she was being taken she was hit by sticks.

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“Until they reached the tunnels. There they walked for a few kilometres on the wet ground.

“There is a huge network of tunnels underneath – it looks like a spider web.”

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She was released alongside fellow Israeli citizen Nurit Cooper, 79, on Monday evening, but their husbands, 83 and 84, remain captive with more than 200 other civilians.

Britain said six of its nationals are among those still being held hostage since Hamas launched its bloody raids on Israel on October 7.

As she was released to Red Cross officials, Mrs Lifshitz was seen reaching back to shake the hand of one of the Palestinian terrorists as she said “Shalom”, a greeting in Hebrew meaning peace.

Ms Lifschitz, an artist and academic who spells her name differently from her mother, said it was “incredible” to be reunited with her – “to hold her hand and to kiss her cheek”.

“She is very sharp and is very keen to share the information, pass on the information to families of other hostages she was with,” she told the BBC.

She said she will continue to campaign for the release of her father, Oded Lifshitz, and the other captives.

“He speaks good Arabic, so he can communicate very well with the people there,” Ms Lifschitz said.

“He knows many people in Gaza and the West Bank. I want to think that he’s going to be OK.

“My mum said they had been looked after and there was a doctor there, so this gives a lot of comfort to everybody.

“We have so many people that we’ve lost – it is a little ray of light but there is a huge darkness as well.”

Ms Lifschitz said she and her mother still dream of peace with the Palestinians, even as an expected ground invasion of Gaza by Israel threatens sparking a wider war in the region.

“We have to find ways because there is no alternative. If anything, it makes me even more resolved,” she said.

“The way has got longer – we are dealing with grief and loss on a level we can never get over, but as nations we will have to find a way forward.”

Mrs Lifshitz was able to describe her ordeal for herself as she appeared at a press conference in Tel Aviv while sitting in a wheelchair and being supported by her daughter.

Translating for her mother, Ms Lifschitz said she had been beaten with sticks after terrorists snatched her away on a motorbike before leading her into Gaza’s tunnels.

“There is a huge network of tunnels underneath – it looks like a spider web,” the daughter said.

But, giving a glimmer of hope to other families, she said the terrorists provided the hostages with medical care.

“They were very friendly towards them and they took care of them, they were given medicine and they were treated,” Ms Lifschitz said.

The release of the two women took the total number of people freed to four, with an American woman and her teenage daughter having been released three days earlier.