Tal Shoham was freed from captivity in Gaza 505 days after Hamas militants abducted him. He said there were times during his ordeal when he didn't think he'd be alive the next morning.

" the 40-year-old Israeli who also holds Austrian citizenship told The. “There are so many ways to die there.” Shoham was one of dozens of hostages released from Gaza in February as part of a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel that has since been broken.

Israel's president said at a Holocaust remembrance ceremony on Thursday that the return of hostages held by Palestinian militants in Gaza was a "universal moral imperative" and called on the international community to help end "this horrific humanitarian crime".

The parish priest of Gaza's only Catholic church talks about getting daily calls from Pope Francis during the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The pope found many occasions to call for peace. Israel struck churches, schools, hospitals and Gaza City’s ymca. Elham Farrah, a music teacher in her 80s, was shot outside Holy Family. Her family say snipers prevented first-aiders from approaching and that she bled to death.