Hamas Thugs Treated Shalit Better Than Expected

When Gilad Shalit sat down minutes after crossing into Israel for his first conversation with an IDF psychologist, reports the Jerusalem Post, he smiled and said to the doctor: “I knew you would be surprised by my condition.”
Shalit was right and the IDF had prepared for a far worse scenario. As a result, it equipped a standard armored military jeep with sophisticated medical equipment for the short 5 minute drive from the Kerem Shalom Crossing between Israel and Egypt to a nearby base and deployed medical equipment — which it had used in Haiti — at the Tel Nof Air Force Base as well.
While Gilad appeared skinny and pale, according to IDF estimates he received regular amounts of food while in Hamas captivity, reports the Jerusalem Post. His pale and skinny physical appearance is understood to be the result of the mental pressure he had been under during the five years and four months of his imprisonment.
IDF officers who met with Shalit refrained from asking direct questions about the conditions of his captivity but he volunteered a few details.
He rarely saw sunlight but he was given a radio and TV by his captors so he could follow the news. That is how, for example, he knew that Binyamin Netanyahu is the current prime minister and that Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz is the IDF chief of General Staff the Post reported.
On the other hand, Shalit said during his interview with Egyptian TV that he was not used to seeing people during his captivity. This could be interpreted as meaning that he was held by a small number of guards who rarely interacted with him, writes Yaakov Katz of the Post.
In the coming weeks, Military Intelligence will begin meeting with Schalit to debrief him on his experiences and to try and glean information that could be useful for Israel. One question that will likely come up is whether Shalit was aware of Izzadin a-Kassam Brigades commander Ahmed Jabari’s involvement in his captivity. Jabari appeared on Egyptian TV on Tuesday accompanying Schalit to the Rafah Crossing.
In addition, Israel will want to learn about his routine, his captors and where he was kept. Defense officials said that the debriefing would only begin after medical authorities gave the green light.
Rami Igra, a former head of the Mossad’s MIA Division said today that Shalit looked surprisingly good and that it appeared Hamas had made an effort to release him presentably.
“Hamas had an interest in making him look good so it could say that it treated him well and in a humane manner,” Igra told the Jerusalem Post. “At the same time though, the paleness is likely the result of the immense pressure he was under.”