Gilad Shalit speaks of Hamas captivity

For first time since his release after being held prisoner for five years, former captive tells Channel 10 about life in Gaza

Ynet|Published: 10.11.12 , 21:36

Former Hamas captive Gilad Shalit shared a few details of his life as a prisoner in Gaza in an interview with Channel 10 News.

Shalit, who was released last summer after five years, recalled passing the time by "Making a ball out of socks or a shirt and throwing it around.

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"I'd make up games for myself, sports stuff mostly. I would also write and play Scattergories," he said.

"I would draw a map of Israel, of the Mitzpe," he said, referring to Mitzpe Hila in northern Israel, where he lives. "I did it to remember. To imagine the places."

Shalit added that at times, he would have to hide his writing because his captors were suspicious, thinking he was spying on them.

Speaking of the day of his release, the former captive said that the magnitude of the event was not lost on him.

"I was nervous. There was a lot of pressure. I didn’t know if anything would happen at the last minute, if anyone would try and hit us, if something would go wrong.

"Once I got out of the car and was handed over to the Egyptians, then there was a sense of relief. All of a sudden I saw all these people around, hundreds. After not seeing more than a handful of people for all those years," was a shock, he said.

Asked about the controversial interview with the Egyptian television, before he was returned to Israel, he said: "She didn't hug me or anything, she just shook my hand.

"She was the first woman I saw in five and a half years," he added.

Recalling his first night back home, Shalit said he had trouble sleeping. "I walked around the house. Looked outside the windows, saw all the guards patrolling the yard."