Hostage Family Statements Highlight Attempts at Conversion by Hamas
Families of some of the 20 hostages released to Israel this week reported that Hamas attempted to persuade the starving captives to convert to Islam in exchange for more food, but the hostages refused.
Hamas, considered an Islamist terror group, pursues not only the destruction of Israel but also aims to forcibly convert people worldwide to Islam. The organization’s name, an Arabic abbreviation for “Islamic Resistance Movement,” is frequently overlooked by pro-Palestinian advocates in the West.
Relatives of hostages returned due to a cease-fire agreement during Donald Trump’s presidency shared details about Hamas’ efforts to convert their loved ones and the courageous resolve shown by the hostages amidst dire conditions.
Moreover, hostages faced psychological torment. For instance, Rom Blaslavsky’s mother detailed how his captors tried to coerce him into converting by offering better treatment and food. Despite the pressure, he remained firm in his beliefs. The captors also fabricated claims that Israelis were too weak or apathetic to advocate for their release, while inflating casualty figures of the Israeli Defense Forces and the damage done to Israel.
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Another hostage, Yosef-Haim Ohana, was reportedly subjected to Islamic religious broadcasts via radio. However, her father noted that she and a fellow captive managed to alter the radio’s wiring, allowing them to tune into Israeli military communications, where Ohana heard her father’s voice in an interview. This filled her with hope, leading her to think, ‘My father is alive! He is waiting for me!’” as shared by her father.
On Thursday, freed hostage and IDF soldier Matan Angrest attended the funeral of his friend and tank commander, Captain Daniel Perez, who was killed by Hamas on October 7. Perez’s remains were subsequently transferred to Gaza.
Angrest, the only survivor from his tank unit, expressed his eagerness to return to Gaza to facilitate the retrieval of the remains of other deceased hostages just three days post-release, according to reports from The Times of Israel.
Hamas has indicated it will return the remains of 28 hostages, but so far, only 11 bodies have been returned, including one identified as that of a deceased Palestinian.
