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“This is the man who, on his orders and with his own hands, abused me and almost killed me several times,” Braslavski wrote.
By United with Israel Staff
The IDF and Shin Bet announced Tuesday that they eliminated an Islamic Jihad terrorist who commanded a squad during the October 7 massacre and later helped hold Israeli hostages in southern Gaza.
According to the military, Talal Jaber Mohammad Abd al-Aal was killed in a strike in southern Gaza two days earlier. The IDF said he commanded a terrorist squad that infiltrated Israel during the October 7 massacre and took part in the attack.
The military added that throughout the war, Abd al-Aal was involved in holding Israeli hostages captured by Islamic Jihad in southern Gaza.
Following the announcement, former hostage Rom Braslavski identified Abd al-Aal as one of his captors, saying he knew him as “Abu Yusuf” and describing years of severe abuse during his captivity.
“This is the man who weighed 100 kilograms and jumped on my neck when I was malnourished,” Braslavski wrote. “This is the commander who commanded the terrorist cell that held me for an entire year.”
Braslavski said Abd al-Aal ordered and personally participated in his abuse.
“This is the man who, on his orders and with his own hands, abused me and almost killed me several times,” he wrote. He also alleged that while he was bound hand and foot and “very close to death,” Abd al-Aal forced him to open his mouth and spat into it.
The former hostage ended his message by recalling that his captor had once challenged him to deliver a message to Israel’s Shin Bet security agency.
“Remember you told me to convey a message to the Shin Bet that you were not afraid of them?” Braslavski wrote. “The message was conveyed. Enjoy hell.”
The IDF said Southern Command forces remain deployed in Gaza in accordance with the current agreement and will continue operating to eliminate any immediate threats.
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