Recently released Israeli hostage Tal Shoham revealed that Hamas’s terror infrastructure in Gaza remains intact, with its underground tunnel network expanding daily—even after more than a year of war. In an interview with Fox News, Shoham detailed his harrowing 505-day ordeal in Hamas captivity, revealing new insights into the terror group’s relentless efforts to rebuild and strengthen its underground stronghold.

Shoham, who was abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7 while visiting his wife’s parents, endured months of physical and psychological torment, starvation, and complete isolation. Despite Israel’s intensive military campaign to dismantle Hamas’s labyrinthine tunnel network, he confirmed that Hamas has never stopped digging—not even for a single day.

Shoham’s nightmare began when he voluntarily surrendered to Hamas terrorists, believing it would spare the lives of his wife, Adi, and their two children, Yahel (3) and Naveh (8). His wife and children were later released in the November 2023 hostage truce, but Shoham was left behind, enduring nearly 17 months of captivity.

He recalled the chilling moment he stepped outside and was met by 40 armed terrorists. Some filmed him like a trophy, others laughed in his face. Hauled into Gaza in a car trunk, he was dragged out and ordered to kneel.

“I said, ‘I can’t control whether you kill me or not,’ and I raised my hands—but I refused to kneel,” Shoham recalled. “If you want to kill me, kill me, but you will not execute me like ISIS.”

Hamas terrorists paraded him through the streets of Gaza, jeering crowds watching. “I just waved and smiled. I didn’t show fear,” he said.

For 50 agonizing days, Shoham had no idea if his wife and children were alive. The isolation and uncertainty pushed him to the brink of despair.

“Never in my life have I experienced suffering like this,” he admitted. To survive, he forced himself to accept that his family was dead.

“I sat on the floor and imagined myself at their funeral. I stood in front of a grave—one large for my wife, two small for my children—and I eulogized each of them. I sobbed but didn’t let my captors see me cry. That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done—burying my family in my mind.”

Then, on Day 50, a miracle—a letter from his wife. Adi and the children were alive.

“That was the most important thing,” Shoham said. “I didn’t need to be a father and husband protecting them anymore. Now, I could focus on my war—the one I knew how to fight, the one for survival.”

After months of isolation, Shoham was eventually transferred into Hamas’s vast underground tunnel network, a subterranean maze described as “a city beneath a city.” There, he lived alongside his captors—who, even amid Israel’s relentless attacks, continued digging tunnels every single day.

“Hamas never stopped digging. Not for a single day,” Shoham revealed.

His chilling testimony confirms Israeli intelligence reports that Hamas’s underground network remains a formidable, ever-growing fortress, despite direct military strikes.

A January 2024 report estimated the tunnel network spans 350 to 450 miles, with over 5,700 tunnel shafts across Gaza. By July 2024, Israeli defense sources indicated that Hamas had repaired major sections, proving its ability to regenerate even in the midst of war.

Like many other released hostages, Shoham described being deliberately starved by Hamas.

At first, he was given just pita bread. Then, supplies dwindled.

“For days, I survived on three spoons of avocado and three dates, or half an orange from a tree in the yard.” His captors rationed him only 300 calories a day—a fraction of what a man his age needs to survive.

After months of severe malnutrition, he was given just 300 milliliters of water per day—for both drinking and washing.

By the time his captors finally called a doctor, Shoham was already suffering from severe internal bleeding in his legs.

“My legs turned blue, yellow, and purple,” he recounted. The doctor gave him blood thinners to prevent clots and a week’s worth of vitamins—the first meaningful nutrients he had in months.

“It tasted like dog food, but it saved my life.”

On February 22, 2025, Shoham was finally freed. But many were not so lucky. His fellow captives, Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa Dalal, remain in Gaza—among the 59 remaining hostages still held by Hamas.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)