‘I left my good friends behind’: In videos shown in Tel Aviv, freed hostages share their stories.

Sitting on a couch next to a crocheted blanket, Adina Moshe introduced herself in a video as having been released from Hamas captivity.

The 72-year-old’s voice was soft. “I left my good friends from Kibbutz Nir Oz there,” she said. Mrs Moshe was held hostage in Gaza for 49 days after witnessing militants kill her husband, Said David Moshe, in a surprise attack on October 7.

Like many released hostages, she made a plea to the Israeli government.

“Please make sure we get everyone out first,” she said. “Take them home and then take military action.”

On Saturday evening, Ms Moshe was among the hostages who told personal stories in videos made public for the first time. Although family members have shared stories of the conditions they faced in captivity, including being denied adequate food, being confined to cramped quarters and being forced to watch disturbing images of the October 7 attacks, this one of the first times some of the released prisoners addressed the camera.

The videos were shown in Tel Aviv’s so-called Hostage Square, where large numbers of demonstrators have regularly gathered to demand the release of hostages held captive since the start of the war. Relatives of the remaining prisoners have warned that time is running out for their loved ones and have pressured the government to make their freedom an urgent priority.

Hamas released 105 hostages in exchange for 240 captured Palestinians during a weeklong ceasefire that ended on December 1. There have been no more exchanges since then.

Among those who appeared in video testimonies was Ofelia Adit Roitman, 77, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and taken to Gaza in the bottom of a tractor. She appeared with a large bandage on her arm and hand and said she had been hit with a large gun on October 7.

“I was very scared for the first two weeks,” said Ms. Roitman, who was held hostage for 53 days. “I thought I was crazy because I was alone. There was hardly any light. There was hardly any food.”

“It reminded me of the Holocaust,” she continued. She pretended to tear a piece of pita bread and said she only wanted to eat pieces of bread so she would have food for the next day.

Maya Regev, 21, was released after being held hostage for 50 days. Her brother, Itay Regev, 18, was released four days later. They appeared in a video together wearing T-shirts with the face of their friend Omer Shem-Tov, 21, another hostage Israeli who was still in captivity. The three were kidnapped from the music festival in Re’im on October 7.

“Every day is hell,” Maya said from a wheelchair after undergoing surgery for a gunshot wound to her leg.

Through tears, the siblings echoed each other, pleading for their friend’s return. “I have a friend named Omer, and I really, really miss him,” Itay said, gently holding his shirt off his chest.

“I know what he’s going through there, and I know how scary it is,” he said.

Gaya Gupta reporting contributed.