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Israeli hostage details experience in captivity for the first time
Yagil Yaakov was kidnapped from his home in Benir Oz along with his older brother Or, 15
On Sunday evening, Yagil Yaakov, a 13-year-old Israeli hostage, shared his account on Israeli television, recounting his ordeal being held in the Gaza Strip alone for 52 days.
He was kidnapped from his home in Benir Oz along with his older brother Or, 15, and the two were held separately. During his captivity, he was forced by the Islamic Jihad to pose for a video that the organization distributed.
Yaakov recounted the days that felt like an eternity and shared his concern for his father, Yair, who is still being held in Gaza, stating, "Dad is like my best friend, and I miss him very much.”
He continued that the family does not know details about the father's condition: "This helplessness is driving the whole family crazy. We are waiting for every piece of information, just to know what is happening with him."
"We are very much waiting for a deal and for all the abductees to be released. I can't digest it, I left - but what about him? What about all the abductees who stayed there and had to experience this nightmare? I know what it's like. I was there."
He described that in captivity, every day feels like an eternity.
"Mostly sitting, talking and learning Arabic," he repeated. "They are dealing with the question of when there will be a deal, hearing lies about the State of Israel - how much they don't want you, that they abandoned us, and that they don't want to take us back."