An Israeli hostage whose body was returned home in a February as part of a ceasefire deal with Hamas was tortured to death during interrogation in captivity.
His brother, Danny Elgert, revealed on Thursday that the results of an autopsy on his brother, 68-year-old Itzik Elgert, proved he did not die of a heart attack, as previously believed.
“Today, after my brother’s autopsy, the facts are clear: Itzik did not die of a heart attack. He was tortured to death,” Elgert wrote.
He detailed injuries that included multiple broken ribs from chest compression, a fractured nose, and broken toes, all consistent with severe physical abuse.
According to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, the precise cause of death could not be determined for legal purposes, but the severity and nature of the fractures were consistent with trauma capable of killing a living person. “He was murdered with extreme cruelty,” Danny said.
Elgert, a resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz, was abducted during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 massacre, in which terrorists killed 1,200 people, injured thousands, and kidnapped 251 others. On the morning of the attack, Hamas fighters shot him through the door of his safe room before taking him captive.
Six weeks earlier, Danny recounted to the Knesset that Hamas interrogators incorrectly believed his brother was an Air Force pilot because of an eagle tattoo on his arm. Held alongside US-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, Elgert was taken away for questioning and never returned. “Itzik is dead, murdered, because they thought he was a pilot,” Danny said.
Alexander later told officials he asked where Elgert was, and the captors replied, “He’s gone.” Intelligence assessments indicated Elgert was alive until at least January 2024, when he was transferred from Khan Younis to Rafah.
His body was returned during the final stage of the first phase of the hostage deal in February 2025.
His brother, Danny Elgert, revealed on Thursday that the results of an autopsy on his brother, 68-year-old Itzik Elgert, proved he did not die of a heart attack, as previously believed.
“Today, after my brother’s autopsy, the facts are clear: Itzik did not die of a heart attack. He was tortured to death,” Elgert wrote.
He detailed injuries that included multiple broken ribs from chest compression, a fractured nose, and broken toes, all consistent with severe physical abuse.
According to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, the precise cause of death could not be determined for legal purposes, but the severity and nature of the fractures were consistent with trauma capable of killing a living person. “He was murdered with extreme cruelty,” Danny said.
Elgert, a resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz, was abducted during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 massacre, in which terrorists killed 1,200 people, injured thousands, and kidnapped 251 others. On the morning of the attack, Hamas fighters shot him through the door of his safe room before taking him captive.
Six weeks earlier, Danny recounted to the Knesset that Hamas interrogators incorrectly believed his brother was an Air Force pilot because of an eagle tattoo on his arm. Held alongside US-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, Elgert was taken away for questioning and never returned. “Itzik is dead, murdered, because they thought he was a pilot,” Danny said.
Alexander later told officials he asked where Elgert was, and the captors replied, “He’s gone.” Intelligence assessments indicated Elgert was alive until at least January 2024, when he was transferred from Khan Younis to Rafah.
His body was returned during the final stage of the first phase of the hostage deal in February 2025.
