Colonel Dr. Avi Banov, the deputy chief of the IDF medical corps, shared with Reuters today (Monday) the testimonies of the hostages who were returned as part of the ceasefire deal last week.

Some of the hostages were held in dark underground tunnels for eight months straight.

"Some of them told us that they've been in the past few months, that they've been through the entire time, in tunnels, underground," Banov said. "Some of them were alone through the entire time they were there. Those who said they were together were in better shape."

He said that hostages who were held together with other hostages were allowed to shower, change clothes, and even received better food than hostages who were held in isolation.

The treatment of the hostages improved in the days leading up their release as Hamas attempted to pretend the hostages had been treated well for the entire 15 months they were held captive. Despite this, multiple hostages showed signs of wounds that had gone untreated in the year that followed the October 7 massacre and "mild starvation."