Former Hostage: “The Lamps Are Coming” IFCJ Canada | October 30, 2025 Photo: Yossi Aloni/Flash90 Photo: Yossi Aloni/Flash90 Speaking with The Times of Israel in his first interview since his return, former hostage Yosef-Chaim Ohana recalls the spontaneous and sadistic nature of Hamas’ beatings while in captivity. He recalls leveraging his own life by appealing to the terror group’s goal of seeing Palestinian prisoners released and describes life in the dark tunnels beneath Gaza and never knowing which direction was right or left. The only light in the tunnels came from his captor’s lamps. “When someone comes with a lamp, at first, there were periods when we waited for it, maybe they’ll bring us a teapot or something,” he said. “One time they came, we greeted them, and suddenly they started beating us. “They received an order, and they started beating us. They put us against the wall on one side, they just take off our shirts and beat us,” he said. “Since then, we’ve called it ‘the lamps are coming.’ And every time we saw the lamps, we had a panic attack. No one knows where to go. ‘Shall I stand? Shall I sit? Who will be the first to take it?’ We want to run as far inside as possible, but then we realize that it won’t look good and that we have to spread out over the whole room,” Ohana said. “We would prefer that they don’t come for a week, two weeks, a month, that they leave us alone.” Hamas members would suddenly point a gun at Ohana and the other hostages’ heads, blaming them for all the death and destruction in Gaza, and telling them everything they were doing was in the name of revenge. Ohana used logic to convince them not to kill him, telling them that his death would mean fewer prisoner exchanges. Abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7, Ohana spent 738 days in captivity and was set free along with the remaining surviving hostages a couple weeks. He has since been discharged from the hospital and has returned to his family in Kiryat Malachi. His story and testimony are one of many things that Israel and the world must never forget about the true terror inflicted on hostages in Gaza. IFCJ Canada praises God that Ohana, his family, and those of the other released hostages are able to rejoice upon their return, and the long-awaited healing process can begin. At the same time, we pray for the ongoing efforts to return those who were murdered and being held in Gaza.
