Thoughts of a Former Hostage: My Reaction to Hamas Releasing Captives

Ana Diamond, currently working with the Oxford Disinformation and Extremism Lab and the Red Team Network at OpenAI, has also co-founded the Alliance Against State Hostage-taking. Her experience includes enduring over 200 days in solitary confinement as a hostage in Iran between 2016 and 2018. She expresses her own views in this commentary. See more opinion at CNN.

As a 19-year-old undergraduate student in London in the summer of 2014, I went to Iran to visit relatives. At the time, I was a citizen of Iran, Finland, and the UK. Shortly after my arrival, I was questioned about my involvement in British local politics as a young conservative, as well as about my trips to both the US and Israel as an exchange student. Despite my lack of involvement or interest in Iranian affairs, I was branded as "an infiltrator," treated as a national security threat, and informed that I couldn't leave the country.

Ana Diamond

In 2016, I was falsely arrested for alleged espionage and infiltration of the Iranian political system by MI6. Iran used me and several other dual nationals as political pawns in its diplomatic relations with the West, falsely accusing us of national security offenses.

I was held in a hostile environment in Evin prison where my captors sought to strip me of power and humanity. I was constantly threatened with execution, sleep deprivation, abandonment without food in my solitary cell, and punishment in stress positions. I had no choice but to comply with their rules to avoid suffering. On the day of my release, my captors didn't bother to inform me, adding to the psychological torture of uncertainty and unpredictability. They maintained control over our fates until the very last minute of captivity. During my transfer out of prison, I had no idea where I was headed, and due to the frequent threats I endured, I lived in constant fear of assault or death.

The past few weeks have witnessed a fresh push to halt the conflict between Israel and Hamas in return for the liberation of captives held by the Palestinian militant group. Having experienced the anguish of captivity firsthand, albeit in a different context, I earnestly desire for the parties to come to an agreement to release more of those in captivity and find a lasting resolution to the Gaza war. Nevertheless, I also wish that when this happens, social media will not once again be flooded with pro-Hamas misinformation and propaganda suggesting that the kidnapped Israelis were treated well by the militant group.

On December 16, 2023, Israelis and the relatives of the hostage families gathered outside the Kiriya military base in Tel Aviv to demand Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu take stronger action to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza.

The hostages in Gaza desperately require America's intervention before it becomes too late. In late November, 105 hostages were gradually released during a pause in the conflict. However, the concerning trend of denying or minimizing Hamas' mistreatment of the hostages in Gaza was evident on social media. This involved the active promotion of pro-Hamas content, including footage of Israeli hostages seemingly in high spirits and expressing gratitude towards their captors.

The images, according to Hamas sympathizers, served as evidence that the hostages were treated well and had a positive relationship with their Hamas captors. Users on X (formerly Twitter) stated that the hostages "were having the time of their lives" and that "they were treated well." However, I find this hard to believe given the instances where hostages attempted to escape only to be mistakenly killed by the Israel Defense Forces. Additionally, harrowing details shared by relatives of released hostages point to beatings, hunger, and lack of proper medical care.

As a former hostage of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of Iran (IRGC), I was upset to see the misleading viral narratives surrounding the Israeli hostages on social media. Iran, known for rogue hostage-taking tactics following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, is now funding Hamas.

On October 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv, Israel, photographs of the individuals who were taken hostage by Hamas during recent attacks were displayed. With Israel's impending invasion of the Gaza Strip to eradicate Hamas, concerns have arisen about the possibility of a broader conflict involving multiple fronts, including the country's northern border with Lebanon. Countries have raced to evacuate their citizens from Israel, and Israel has started relocating residents from certain communities on its northern border. In the meantime, hundreds of thousands of residents of northern Gaza have fled to the southern part of the territory in response to Israel's announcement of a ground invasion.

Leon Neal/Getty Images

Opinion: The deep moral dilemma at the heart of the hostage deal

Hostage takers have a strong incentive to keep their prisoners alive in order to demand a higher ransom for their release. While it may be tempting to view Hamas' actions as humane due to their concern for the well-being of the hostages, the psychological effects of the trauma endured can be long-lasting, even if there are no obvious signs of physical abuse. It is crucial for hostages released from captivity in Gaza to receive extensive treatment to overcome the trauma. However, we must be cautious not to read too much into the orchestrated moments of release, as they are carefully curated by Hamas for public relations purposes. It is important to recognize the true experiences of hostages in these politically charged times and not be swayed by the images presented on social media.

The footage of the hostages in Gaza, selectively filmed and distributed by Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, further confirms the belief that these hostages are being used for propaganda. It is important for viewers to recognize that these hostages, surrounded by armed militants, have very little control over their situation and limited rights to act freely.

In response to this, I shared my personal perspective on the psychological impact of being trapped in a hostage situation on X. The video garnered 2.5 million views within 24 hours. As a former hostage and an expert in analyzing information warfare, it was crucial for me to challenge the online narratives that were glorifying Hamas.

In a situation where the caprice of your captor determines your entire life and their next move is highly unpredictable, our brains, wired to ensure survival, will go to great lengths to minimize the risk of harm, even resorting to appeasement or collaboration. It is not surprising that Evin prison is infamous for coercing false confessions from detainees.

On October 31 in Sderot, Israel, a lighting flare fired by Israeli forces on the northwest of Gaza was visible from the city as the Israeli airstrikes entered their 25th day. (Photo by Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

After reporting on Hamas in Gaza for more than ten years, I find myself grappling with a series of questions. Following my release in 2018, I underwent extensive therapy and rehabilitation that spanned hundreds of hours. However, the physical and psychological scars from my four years in Iran continue to haunt me on a daily basis. Living with enduring post-traumatic stress disorder, I constantly battle with fight/flight/freeze responses that trigger at lightning speed, making it difficult for me to return to a state of normalcy. For instance, my heart can race up to 270 beats per minute at any moment and remain there for hours before subsiding on its own, through medication, or with electrical cardioversion.

It is not right to make assumptions about the appearance and well-being of hostages upon their release, just as it is not right to read into their decisions about speaking publicly. Some on social media also made these assumptions. The hostages may choose to stay silent to protect those who are still captive. In my case, I chose not to speak out publicly for the first year after my release because my parents were still being held captive in Iran. I was worried that anything I said could be used against them. Eventually, they were released and were able to return to the UK after over a year of negotiations and the confiscation of approximately £5.5 million ($7 million) worth of their assets by the IRGC as a form of ransom payment.

Given these facts, it is irresponsible for sensationalist commentators to downplay the plight of the hostages or provide a platform for positive PR for Hamas. This behavior could endanger those who are still being held. Giving publicity to Hamas and its militant groups may encourage them to continue creating propaganda at the expense of the victims' privacy and dignity, or worse, incite more incidents of hostage-taking.

Some may deny the victimhood of the hostages in order to highlight the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. With a reported death toll of over 20,000 in Gaza according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry, the lives of 129 hostages may seem insignificant in comparison.

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Connect with us on Twitter and Facebook. However, those who claim to have moral integrity should avoid making superficial comparisons based only on statistics. Showing support and empathy for one group's hardships does not diminish the suffering of another group - even though the overwhelming emotions of devastation and anger, fueled by false information online and live-streamed deaths, can sometimes make it difficult to see this reality.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to favor continued IDF attacks on the Gaza Strip, opting for destruction over precision, instead of prioritizing negotiations for the safe return of Israeli citizens. With over 100 hostages still held by Hamas in a worsening political environment, there is an urgent need to restore the humanity and freedom of those torn from their homes and forced through tunnels at gunpoint. The preservation of our collective empathy and commitment to truth will serve as the ultimate measure of how we address the conflict before us.