Among the hostages to be released on Sunday evening was Roni Krivoi, who was not released through the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas but rather as a gesture by Hamas to Russia and President Vladimir Putin.
Yelena Magid, Krivoi's aunt, revealed on Monday that her nephew managed to escape Hamas captivity for four days, after which he was caught by the terrorists.
In an interview with Kan Reshet Bet, the aunt said that Krivoi took advantage of the fact that the building that he was held in collapsed after an IDF bombing and managed to escape his captors.
"He said he was caught by terrorists who held him in a building which collapsed from the bombing. He managed to escape and hide on his own for four days," she recounted.
"He tried to reach the border and did not succeed. In the end, the Gazans caught him and returned him to the hands of the terrorists," Magid added.
She also recounted the day of his abduction, when he attempted to escape the scene of the massacre at the music festival in Re'im. "At a certain point, Roni decided to stop running. He hid and covered himself in bushes. His friend was in contact with him until 10:30, then Roni told him that he heard the terrorists really close. Ten minutes later, his friend called again, and they answered in Arabic, he started screaming, 'Roni, Roni,' they laughed and hung up."