In an exclusive interview by CBN news, a released Hamas hostage, Jimmy Pacheko recounts his horrific experience. After more than 50 days as a prisoner of Hamas, he’s finally home and he’s sharing his story of survival and his gratitude to God for his freedom.
“When I was taken out of the house, I didn’t expect them to spare me because I witnessed my employer being killed mercilessly,” he said. Jimmy lived in a kibbutz where he was a caregiver to an elderly man who was immediately killed by Hamas. In an exclusive interview, Jimmy talked about his harrowing experience.
Transcription:
Jimmy Pacheko spent more than 50 days as a prisoner of Hamas. Now, he shares his story of survival and his gratitude to God for freedom.
On October 7th, the day Hamas terrorists began their attacks along the Gaza border. Jimmy Pacheco was taken hostage when he was taken out of the house. He didn’t expect them to spare him because he witnessed his employer being killed mercilessly.
Jimmy lived in a kibbutz, where he was a caregiver to an elderly man who was immediately killed by Hamas. In an exclusive interview, Jimmy talked about his harrowing experience. He heard gunfire from another house and sent a message to his wife back in the Philippines to take care of their children.
Hamas asked if he was a soldier, set a rifle on automatic, and fired beside his ear until the ammo ran out. After that, he heard a buzzing sound in his ears. When supplies were scarce, they only gave one pita bread for the whole day, which he didn’t eat in one sitting but got a pinch whenever he felt hungry.
As time passed, the water supply became salty, and he worried due to a history of kidney illness. They gave him a piece of toilet paper, which he hid in his pocket and ate when wet enough, filling his empty stomach and quenching his thirst. He was about 40 meters below the ground, and it was cold with condensation on the walls.
During captivity, Jimmy was made to clean seven toilets, which he was okay with because not doing so would make the smell worse. In the first and second weeks, he stayed inside a small prison with a toilet right beside him, constantly wondering why he was captured.
He gathered strength for his children, eating toilet paper to survive. He pleaded to God for his life, promising to endure even if he stayed there for ten years. After roughly a month and a half in captivity, Jimmy was included in the first batch of hostages released by Hamas.
They were told they would be leaving the tunnel where they were held captive, and when he first saw the sun and breathed fresh air, he knelt down and thanked the Lord for his strength. Jimmy expressed his maturity and strength, vowing to keep working to provide for his family and prevent his children from experiencing the hardships he faced as a child.
He thanked everyone for their prayers and shared his eyewitness testimony of being a hostage in Hamas, literally underground, 40 meters below the ground. The deprivation he experienced is an untold story that is now being shared.