Two months after his release from captivity, Elkana Bohbot is revealing for the first time what he experienced while held hostage - describing the psychological abuse inflicted by his captors, which focused specifically on his closest family members: his wife, Rivka, and his young son, Re’em.
In an interview with Channel 12 News, Bohbot said his captors recognized the deep bond he had with his family and turned it into a means of torment. He recounted that they repeatedly told him his wife had left him, and at other times claimed she had died. “They made sure to humiliate me,” he said.
Among the most painful moments he described was when one of his captors asked for his son’s name. After he answered “Re’em,” the terrorist replied, “I’m going to pray right now that he dies.” Bohbot said the man then knelt and bowed before him - intending to frighten him and strike at his most vulnerable point.
He added that even after his release, worry for his son continued to haunt him. At first, he admitted, he feared their reunion: “In the beginning, I didn’t want to see him because I was afraid he wouldn’t run to me, or that he wouldn’t recognize me - or that I wouldn’t recognize him. I was very afraid.”
In the interview, he described how he tried to prepare himself for the moment of reunion but received no clear guidance. “I just told them, tell me what to do - explain to me what I’m supposed to do - and they had no answers.”