The family of freed hostage Ofer Kalderon (54) reported that he was regularly beaten, held in a cage, and mentally tortured and humiliated by his Hamas captors.

His relative, Ido Dan, told Walla on Sunday, a day after his release, that Hamas wanted to convince Kalderon “that the world he knew no longer existed. He was kept in a cage for a long time and had to wait for permission to shower or use the bathroom.”

Additionally, Kalderon was regularly beaten and lost a significant amount of weight due to extreme malnutrition.

Dan continued, “He was lonelier than others, rarely exposed to television or radio. They didn’t show him that there was a struggle for his release.”

“He didn’t see anything. He wasn’t aware of what was happening here… He only knew that there were demonstrations, but he asked questions as if he had never seen the news. There were relatives who fought for him and were interviewed frequently, and he asked what happened to them, if they even participated in the struggle.” However, Dan added that Ofer reported seeing his cousin Yifat Calderon demonstrating on Al-Jazeera.

Despite all that Kalderon endured, his family reported that he is showing his characteristic humor and appears to be in good spirits.

“He talks a lot, and so far, we’re surprised by his improved condition. We feared he would return broken. But he is very much the Ofer we knew—silly, full of humor, funny, and cynical. He makes everything feel light. It’s been an enormous relief.”

However, Ido Dan discussed the toll his father’s extended captivity has taken on his children.

“The children haven’t fully recovered yet. You can see the effect on their behavior and anxiety… They are not ordinary children. With his release, the relief they feel is indescribable.”

Dan added, “I don’t think he fully understands what the family went through during that time or the level of anxiety we experienced. Until a few days ago, we didn’t know if he was alive or dead. We only knew there was a high probability that he was alive.”