Hisham al-Sayed, from the Israeli Bedouin town of Hura, who was in Hamas captivity in Gaza for nearly a decade, was released without a ceremony, a specific break in pattern from the terrorist organization’s previous hostage releases.
“After nearly a decade of fighting for Hisham’s return, the long-awaited moment has arrived,” his family wrote in a statement released on Saturday. “We thank all the people of Israel, who have been with us and by our side throughout the years. A big thank you to the families of the hostages and to the team who embraced us and saw us as a natural part of the struggle to bring everyone home.
“These days, we need privacy for Hisham and the whole family so that we can begin to care for Hisham and ourselves,” the family emphasized. “Especially now, we want to ask for the continuation of the plan to bring the hostages home – the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for a proper burial in Israel.”
Al-Sayed was 27 when he wandered into southern Gaza and was promptly abducted by Hamas. Now, at age 36, the Bedouin-Israeli will return to his hometown.
Crossing into Gaza
The newly released hostage crossed into Gaza on April 20, 2015. He was believed to have been struggling with severe mental health issues at the time he entered, having reportedly been diagnosed with schizophrenia, a “personality disorder,” and other conditions.
In 2016, Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades published what appeared to be photoshopped pictures purporting to show al-Sayed working as an IDF soldier, according to Human Rights Watch.
Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Zahar told the NGO in September that neither al-Sayed nor Avera Mengistu, an Israeli of Ethiopian descent who crossed into Gaza the year prior, were civilians.
“There are no civilians in Israel,” the terror leader claimed. “Israelis who enter Gaza are spies.”
Al-Sayed reportedly served for three months in the IDF in 2008 but was deemed “incompatible for service,” according to HRW.
In June 2022, more than a year before Hamas’s October 7 massacre in 2023, the terror group released a video showing him in captivity in poor health.
His father Sha’ban told HRW that his son had repeatedly crossed into restricted areas while battling his mental health issues – reportedly to the West Bank at least 15 times, Jordan twice, and Gaza twice.
He said his son “is not a soldier. 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 Bedouin we know there helped return him within 24 hours. But the Hamas leadership changed in 2014, and his luck ran out,” he said.
Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW’s Middle East director, said “Hamas’s refusal to confirm its apparent prolonged detention of men with mental health conditions and no connection to the hostilities is cruel and indefensible. No grievance or objective can justify holding people incommunicado and bartering over their fates.”
The oldest of eight children, al-Sayed reportedly struggled in school and later to maintain employment. He was once married but was apparently divorced a week after the wedding.
A week before he entered Gaza, he had reportedly spoken to his mother about finding a new bride.
Al-Sayed’s mother, Manal, described him to HRW as “never content with the life he has at home and always looking at other people and wishing he had what they have.”