In a press meeting on Tuesday, 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz, an Israeli captive released from Gaza on Monday evening, said she was beaten on 7 October, the day Palestinian fighters stormed southern Israel, but later treated "gently".

Sources told Israel's state-owned Kan News that the interview was a "mistake", adding that a "preliminary meeting" may not have been held with Lifshitz prior to her press statement and that if one had been held, not "all questions" to do with the preparation were asked.

Lifshitz is one of four Israelis who have been released after Hamas-led Palestinian fighters stormed Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip in an attack that killed around 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians. Israel believes 220 captives are being held in Gaza.

The former Israeli hostage was one of the oldest held by Hamas in Gaza, and spent more than two weeks in captivity. She was released alongside another captive, 79-year-old Nurit Yitzhak.

Lifshitz told reporters: "I've been through hell, I never thought that I would reach such a state. They [Palestinian fighters] went berserk in our kibbutz [and] put me on a motorcycle."

She went on to describe how children and the elderly were among those taken, calling the scenes "extremely painful". Lifshitz added that she was hit by a stick en route to Gaza and made to walk several kilometers after reaching the area.