Former hostage Hisham al-Sayed, who is reportedly suffering from schizophrenia, along with a “personality disorder” and other conditions, is struggling to communicate after his Saturday release, his father revealed.
"His mental condition is very difficult; he doesn't communicate," Sha'ban al-Sayed told KAN Reshet Bet on Saturday.
"He looks as if he had been in a torture camp for 10 years. I am dismayed. We never imagined that Hamas would be so cruel; they committed a disgusting act.
"He is emotionally and mentally destroyed."
The currently 36-year-old Bedouin-Israeli wandered into Gaza in 2015 while he was struggling with his mental health and was promptly kidnapped by Hamas. The terrorist organization released him after a decade in captivity, and he has reunited with his family at Ichilov Hospital.
No Gaza ceremony for Hisham
In a break from its recent pattern, Hamas did not organize a ceremony for his release from Gaza.
The terrorist organization claimed that this was "out of respect for his family and respect for Muslim Israelis," according to Gazan reports.
Israeli media suggested it was also due to his medical condition.
Sha’ban al-Sayed previously told Human Rights Watch that his son has been struggling with his mental health for decades.
"He has been ill since his teenage years. He loves to walk for hours and hours, and he is very social. He likes the attention when he goes places he knows are forbidden. People usually realize quite quickly that he is ill and help him get home…
“Once, he walked to Jordan, and we managed to find him after three days. In 2010, he went to Gaza, too, and the Bedouins we know there helped return him within 24 hours. But the Hamas leadership changed in 2014, and his luck ran out.”