An Israeli man who survived months in Hamas captivity has described severe beatings and torture inflicted by his captors, which he said were often triggered by public statements made by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir about worsening conditions for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

In an interview with Kan News, former hostage Bar Kupershtein said Hamas guards repeatedly assaulted him and other captives whenever they saw Ben-Gvir appear in Israeli media or learned of his policies toward Palestinian inmates. “They told us, ‘This is because of Ben-Gvir. Whatever he’s doing to our prisoners, you’ll get the same,’” Kupershtein recalled.

Kupershtein’s account is similar to that of Segev Kalfon, another freed hostage, who told Ynet that the beatings intensified whenever Ben-Gvir made headlines. Israeli journalist Nadav Eyal reported last week that by late 2024, the Shin Bet security agency had warned both Ben-Gvir and Prime Minister Netanyahu that the minister’s comments could endanger the hostages still held in Gaza.

Kupershtein described harrowing scenes of deprivation and violence. “There were days when there was no food — nothing,” he said. “They had one man whose job, he said, was to make sure we weren’t treated too well.”

He recounted a particularly brutal episode around his 270th day in captivity. “They lined us against the wall and really hit us,” he said. “A week later, they took me to their room with my eyes covered, and as soon as I entered, I got two punches to the face — like cymbals crashing together.”

Kupershtein said his captors taunted him in Hebrew, telling him he would now “feel in [his] own flesh what our prisoners feel in your prisons.” They then tied his legs to a metal bar and struck the soles of his feet and legs, breaking several toes. “I couldn’t put weight on my leg for a month,” he said.

Asked if he blamed Ben-Gvir for the suffering he endured, Kupershtein said he was furious that such remarks were made public while hostages remained in captivity. “You know we’re in their hands — how can you let them take it out on us?” he said. “You’re a minister in the government; you’re supposed to look out for us. Why aren’t you?”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)