Hamas drugged hostages before release so they looked ‘happy’, Israeli health official says
Hamas drugged hostages so they appeared “calm and happy” when released from captivity in Gaza, an Israeli official said on Tuesday after the collapse of a one-week truce that saw scores freed.
Israeli officials say Hamas militants seized about 240 hostages and took them to Gaza in their October 7 attacks on southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Of these, 105 were released during the Qatar-mediated truce which ended on Friday and halted devastating fighting inside the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, where the government media office says more than 16,200 people have been killed, again mostly civilians.
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Four-year old American girl freed as Hamas and Israel release hostages under a 4-day truce
Hagar Mizrahi, head of general medicine at Israel’s health ministry, told lawmakers that sedatives such as Rivotril, also known as Clonex, had been given to some of the hostages before their release last month.