MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. Israeli national Sapir Cohen and Russian citizen Yelena Trufanova, who were released earlier from Hamas captivity, have said they were held in harsh conditions.

"While in Gaza, I spent some time in a house and in an underground facility. I had no information about other members of my family. When I am asked what the most difficult thing about captivity was, I can say that it was the harsh conditions. Sometimes, there was no food, and other times, there was no water. For weeks, we had no chance to wash ourselves," Trufanova said at a TASS-hosted press conference on the release of hostages from Gaza.

According to her, there was very little air in the underground facilities and it was hard to breathe. "It is always humid there. Our clothes never dried and we just put them on wet. However, this wasn’t the hardest part. The hardest part was being completely unaware about what happened to my family," the Russian added.

The conditions were simply inhumane, Cohen said. In her words, there was neither food nor water and people were unable to get medical care.

Earlier, Trufanova and Cohen thanked the Russian authorities for assisting their release and expressed hope that Moscow would help free the remaining Hamas hostages.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again on October 7, 2023, after militants from the radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of border communities and taking over 240 people, including women, children and the elderly, hostage. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel announced a total blockade of Gaza and started carrying out strikes on targets in the Strip, and later launched a ground operation in the enclave.