“The Press Does Not Show the Whole Truth”: The Poignant Testimony of Ex-Israeli Hostages in Rome

“The press does not show the whole truth”: The poignant testimony of ex-Israeli hostages in Rome

During a press conference in Rome, former hostages and families of hostages still held in Gaza gave moving testimonies. Luis Har, 71, released after nearly four months of captivity, revealed that the medicines sent for the hostages never reached their destination. “I spent almost four months without medicine. Later, when they entered the hospital in Gaza, they found all the medicines intended for us, still packaged, on the shelves. By chance, they photographed and I recognized my medicines, intact, stored in their hospital,” he said.

Har also denounced the media treatment of the conflict: “One of the major problems today is that the media does not show the complete picture. We only see what Israel does ‘after’, we already forget the 7 October. Some media are not even reporting our testimonies today, as if nothing had happened.”

Sharon Lifshitz, whose father is still hostage, highlighted the complexity of their position: “There are actions of the Israeli government that I oppose. My mother regularly participates in demonstrations against the government. Yet we are considered as ‘government agents’, which says more about those who see us as well as ourselves.” She also spoke about the deep roots of the current situation: “There is a tango between Netanyahu and Hamas, the result of 15 years of believing we could manage the conflict. It ended up destroying our lives. My parents’ house is burned to the ground, as a community we now understand the loss in a way we could not have imagined before October 7.”