Israeli Hostage Story in Gaza: Hostage-taker Gave Us Jewish Prayer Book

TEL AVIV, WEDNESDAY — Agam Berger (20), one of the Israeli hostages who was freed from the Gaza Strip, said that his faith had enabled him to survive for almost 16 months as a hostage in the Gaza Strip. He used some of the available equipment, including Jewish prayer books given by the hostage-takers, to carry out Jewish worship.

Berger told her story of being held hostage in the Gaza Strip in an interview with Israeli radio, Reshet Bet, Tuesday (25/2/2025). Berger is a female member of the Israeli military with a job as a scout.

She and several other female scouts were captured by Hamas and other Palestinian resistance factions, who attacked southern Israel, on October 7, 2023. They were kidnapped from a military base in southern Israel. Berger was released in January 2025, in a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip between Hamas and Israel.

Berger's interview was the first interview with the media by a hostage released under the current ceasefire. Berger told Reshet Bet radio that she had been moved continuously to different locations in the past 16 months in Gaza. She was held in apartment buildings, and in tunnels, along with other female hostages.

Berger said conditions in detention varied depending on the location and who was guarding the hostages. “We were fed and in conditions that were mostly OK when you know what to expect,” he said. “But when you think about it, the conditions were not fit for human beings.”

A number of other hostages said, through statements provided by their families, that they were starved, handcuffed and tortured.

Bergel said his condition worsened after two Israeli military raids to free hostages in early 2024. As a result of the raids, the hostage-takers became increasingly anxious.

Hamas has released 25 living hostages and four bodies of dead hostages. They were released in the first phase of the ceasefire deal, which lasted for 42 days from January 19, 2025.

According to Berger's family, Berger always tried to practice Jewish worship while he was a hostage. Berger told Reshet Bet radio that in January 2025 he and his fellow hostages were given two books of Jewish prayers by the hostage-takers. In addition, they were also given several knick-knacks left by Israeli soldiers, such as Israeli newspapers and military maps.

Berger said he continued to practice Jewish worship while in the hands of the hostage-takers. He and his friends received Jewish prayer books and various prayer equipment from the hostage-takers.

Berger celebrated Hanukkah—an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century BCE—in December 2023 inside the tunnel with four other hostages. He asked the hostage-takers for prayer candles and a menorah—a Jewish symbol shaped like a seven- or nine-branched candlestick—to worship for eight days.

Berger said the equipment was provided by the hostage-takers.

Berger said his morale was crushed when he learned that some in the Israeli government were unwilling to make concessions to free the hostages. "It seemed like our lives were worthless," he said.

Berger tracked the changing dates through a watch given to one of his fellow hostages. The watch was requested again, months before his fellow hostage was released. Now, the fellow hostage says he has difficulty keeping track of Jewish holidays without news from Israel.

For most of his captivity, Berger was fed twice a day, bread and rice. Through his limited access to news, Berger learned about developments in the war, including the debate in Israel about how much it would cost to free the hostages.

Berger said his morale was crushed when he learned that some in the Israeli government were unwilling to make concessions to free the hostages. "It seemed like our lives were worthless," Berger said.

The night before his release, Berger was told that he would be released the following day. He could not sleep that night. The next day, some Palestinian women gave him a green military uniform. He was also told that he would be asked to go up on stage at a release ceremony before being released by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) staff.

Berger also said he was pressured to write a thank you note to the hostage-takers. “I just tried to figure out what it was all about, and I just said, ‘I don’t want to bother. I’m going home today,’” he said.

When he was released, Berger was not allowed to take any of the equipment he had acquired during his captivity. He left behind notebooks filled with sketches he had made with fellow hostages, cards he had written with the birthdays of relatives, and his prayer book.

Meanwhile, separately, US Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff said on Tuesday (25/2/2025) that Israeli representatives are ready to negotiate a second phase of ceasefire with Hamas. Speaking before the American Jewish Committee, Witkoff said that progress has been made in the negotiations.

"The talks will take place in Doha or Cairo. They will be facilitated by Egypt or Qatar," Witkoff said.

Mediation by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States resulted in a first-phase ceasefire that will last for 42 days starting January 19, 2025. The agreement will expire on March 1, 2025.

Negotiators claimed they had succeeded in getting Israel to release 600 Palestinian prisoners who should have been released last Saturday in exchange for six hostages and the bodies of four Israeli hostages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delayed the release of prisoners because of a Hamas hostage handover ceremony that he said was humiliating for the hostages.

Witkoff said the focus of the Hamas-Israel talks was returning to efforts for a second phase of the ceasefire and increasing the number of hostages who might be released at this time.

“I will probably join the talks on Sunday (2/3/2025) if all goes according to plan,” Witkoff said.

He also expressed optimism that efforts to involve Saudi Arabia in normalizing relations with Israel would be successful. If realized, Witkoff said, it would be the most important achievement in Zionist diplomacy.

In the first term of Trump's administration, the US pushed for the Abraham Accords which succeeded in normalizing relations between three Arab countries (the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco) with Israel. Sudan also established diplomatic relations with Israel.

The achievement is the first diplomatic success for Israel in decades. Witkoff added that it is possible to open diplomatic relations with Syria and Lebanon, which have recently lost the support of their ally Iran. (AP/AFP/REUTERS)