Hamas drugged hostages before release so they looked ‘happy’, Israeli health official says
- Some captives were given sedatives such as Rivotril, also known as Clonex, Hagar Mizrahi, head of general medicine at Israel’s health ministry, told lawmakers
- She says the abductees were also given a little food just before being handed over, so they would be ‘in good form’
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.
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.
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“[Hamas militants] gave them Clonex pills to make them seem calm and happy before they were handed over to the Red Cross,” Mizrahi told parliament’s health committee.