A former Israeli prisoner in the Gaza Strip has denied reports that she was beaten and had her hair cut by Hamas while in custody.
In an Instagram post on Friday, Noa Argamani said: “I can’t ignore what has been happening here in the media over the last 24 hours. Things are taken out of context.”
“They (Hamas) did not beat me or cut my hair. I was in a building (in Gaza) that was blown up by the (Israeli) air force,” she stressed.
Her actual words, according to her statement, were: “That weekend, after the shooting, as I said, I had cuts all over my head and injuries all over my body.”
“I want to stress that they (Hamas) did not hit me, but I am injured all over my body because the building collapsed on me,” she added.
Referring to the start of hostilities last year, she added: “As a victim of October 7, I will not allow the media to become a victim again.”
Her comments referred to a statement she made to Japanese diplomats in Tokyo on Thursday.
She said Israeli media had misinterpreted her statement and claimed that she was beaten and had her hair cut while in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
On June 8, the Israeli army managed to free four prisoners, including Argamani, during a special operation in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
According to the Israeli public broadcaster CANThere are currently 109 Israeli hostages in Gaza, 36 of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel launched an offensive on Gaza following a Hamas attack on October 7 last year and has continued it for over ten months despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.
According to local health authorities, the attack left more than 40,200 Palestinians dead, mostly women and children, and more than 93,000 injured.
The ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine and left large parts of the region in ruins.
Israel is facing genocide charges before the International Court of Justice, which ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians had sought refuge before the territory was captured on May 6.
