In a new series of videos released Saturday by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, women who returned from Hamas captivity spoke about the difficult conditions they had faced, pleading with the government to rush the rescue process. “If we don’t get them out now, they won’t get out alive,” one said.
Danielle Aloni, who was released along with her six-year-old daughter Emilia Aloni after 49 days in captivity, recounted: “On October 7, we were brutally kidnapped from our home. Our daughter saw things that children at that age, or any age, should not see.
“A horror movie, you feel like you want to pinch yourself and wake up,” Aloni said. “I’m speaking, and I’m shaking. It was problematic; it was scary. There’s no schedule, nothing...each additional day that passes is an eternity. My brother-in-law is still there; his brother, his partner and her brother, and [other] people there are at risk. People can die because they [Hamas] simply decides to murder them.”
'Every day is critical'
Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, who was released after 17 days, also spoke about those terrifying days: “I hardly slept in the tunnels. I had a problem with the food, and in the last days, I got sick. They were afraid I would cause a pandemic in the tunnels. Every day is critical, also because of the conditions. The living conditions there are very difficult, and the oxygen in the tunnels is running out.
“The fear is that they will take revenge on our kidnapped victims. A soul for a soul with the Palestinians, that’s what they will do. I’m scared every day. There are other 85-year-old friends there and younger ones who can’t handle the psychological and health pressure. And it’s the moral duty of this government to bring them back immediately, without hesitation.”
Yaffa Adar, 85, who was released after 49 days, also pleaded for the release of all the captives. “I was in that hell. I’m asking, begging, all decision-makers to get the children out, get everyone out. It’s not easy, not for them and not for the families,” she said.
“I’m speaking from here, and I think maybe I’ll be here for many more mothers and grandmothers who are making the same request: Release the children now. Now I want to see them. Not when I’m in the coffin,” she said.
Raz Ben-Ami, a 57-year-old woman, was released from captivity after 54 days. In her statement, she expressed deep gratitude to the people of Israel for their love and efforts in rescuing the victims. She said, “I want to say thank you for bringing me back, thank you for being here, thank you for allowing me to return and live my life.”
Ben-Ami conveyed her longing for the return of all captives, including her beloved husband, Ohad Ben-Ami, so he could be reunited with their daughters. “The love I’m receiving here, it’s incomparable,” she said. “I want them to come home. Bring them back now, at this moment, all of them.
“They don’t deserve the terrible suffering there. Bring them back as soon as possible. It’s unbearable there; we must get the kidnapping victims out. If we don’t get them out now, they won’t come out alive,” she stated.
“The food was not plentiful from the start, but as time went on, it became less and less,” recounted Ditza Heiman, 84, who was released after 53 days.
“These are conditions of starvation, you could say. As time passes, the damage grows, and the body’s ability to endure diminishes. It’s a matter of life or death, a mortal danger. They must be brought out immediately,” she said.