Latest news with #Naama
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Youngest October 7 victim was just 14 hours old, report finds
emb 0001 - publish then please The youngest victim of the October 7 massacre was just 14 hours old, a UK parliamentary report has found. The study also disclosed the existence of another Briton who died in the attack, bringing the total number of UK citizens killed to 18. Lord Roberts, the historian who has presided over the report, said its purpose was to produce a definitive account of the Hamas attacks to 'counter pernicious' attempts at denying or minimising the atrocities. The report's main findings – corroborating studies that have come out of Israel – found that planning by Hamas had begun in 2018, five years before the massacre; and that 7,000 militants had taken part in a 'co-ordinated assault' launched from Gaza on 55 separate locations in Israel. It also confirmed that the desecration of corpses had been 'widespread', including the beheading and mutilation of dead bodies which had also been booby-trapped with grenades. The October 7 Parliamentary Commission Report further concluded that 'acts of sexual violence' had occurred 'across all sites' during the attack and that several fully or partially naked bodies from the waist down had been recovered, corroborating previous findings by the United Nation's special representative on sexual violence. The youngest victim was identified as Naama abu Rashed, who suffered a gunshot wound while still in his mother's womb. He died just 14 hours after doctors performed an emergency delivery. The baby, the daughter of Bedouin parents, was born alive but died at 10pm on the day of the attacks. Her mother – also named Naama – had woken her husband in the early hours of October 7 to tell him she had started to have labour pains. She was nine months pregnant. The family, who are Israeli citizens, left their home in Ar'ara, according to the parliamentary report, travelling at speed in the direction of Soroka hospital in Be'er Sheba. But Hamas terrorists had set up a blockade at a road junction. The report states: 'At the Magen junction they came up to two vehicles that had stopped. Abu Rashed 'blinked his lights' and saw a truck with a carpet in the back. Suddenly, someone in the truck moved the carpet to reveal a machine gun and opened fire at the car. It then drove away. 'Naama alerted her husband that she was bleeding from her stomach and they tried to race to the hospital.' But Naama's husband Tarafi was forced to pull over a second time to change a tyre which had been shot out by the gunmen. The family came under Hamas attack a second time before an Israeli ambulance arrived and rushed them to hospital. The report states: 'Naama survived, but the bullet had hit the baby, still in the uterus, in her leg…. Although the baby was born alive – and was named Na'ama – she died at 22:00.63. At 14 hours old, she was the youngest of Hamas' victims on 7 October.' The report – for the first time – names all 18 British nationals killed in the attacks. It confirms that Rotem Kalderon, a 66-year-old teacher and resident of Kibbutz Be'eri, held dual UK-Israeli nationality. Mrs Kalderon had not previously been named in lists of British casualties. Her body remained missing and unidentified for two weeks after the attack on the kibbutz which borders Gaza. Sixteen British nationals killed in the initial attack had already been identified, along with a further UK citizen, 51-year-old Nadav Popplewell, who died while being held as a hostage by Hamas. His brother Roi Popplewell was killed in his home. Mrs Kalderon, a mother-of-three, locked herself in a safe room in her kibbutz house and messaged family and friends for two hours until her death at the hands of the terrorists. On Facebook, her daughter Mika Kalderon posted a tribute. Mrs Kalderon was born and raised on Kibbutz Be'eri but she had taken dual citizenship. Her father Michael Goodrich had emigrated to Israel, having worked as a PE teacher in the UK. Her daughter Mika Kalderon, wrote in a eulogy posted on Facebook after her mother's body was found: 'A week ago, we said goodbye to our beloved mother. The most beautiful wife and mother, vocal, free and inspiring. An inspiration, who always fought to fulfil yourself, who followed your dreams and who always listened and touched everyone.' She continued, 'I love you, and my heart is broken to pieces, but I promise to find the strength to continue. And when you meet Dad, hug him tight and raise a toast to our lives.' Writing in the foreword to the October 7 report, commissioned and published by the All Party Parliamentary Group for UK-Israel, Lord Roberts said: 'Holocaust denial took a few years to take root in pockets of society, but on 7 October 2023 it took only hours for people to claim that the massacres in southern Israel had not taken place. 'Hamas and its allies, both in the Middle East and equally shamefully in the West, have sought to deny the atrocities, despite the ironic fact that much of the evidence for the massacres derives from film footage from cameras carried by the terrorists themselves. 'The present Report has been undertaken to counter such pernicious views, and to lay down incontrovertible proof – for now and for the years to come – that nearly 1,200 innocent people were indeed murdered by Hamas and its allies, and very often in scenes of sadistic barbarism not seen in world history since the Rape of Nanjing in 1937.' He said the emergence of 'several' parliamentary candidates who had 'openly attempted to justify the October 7 atrocities' at last year's general election was evidence of a 'perversion of reason and rejection of human decency'. Lord Roberts' report has received backing from fellow historians in providing an 'irrefutable record' of what happened on October 7. Sir Niall Ferguson, a senior fellow at Harvard and Stanford universities, said: 'Those who wish to understand the repulsive, pathological nature of anti-Semitism should read the report. Those who doubt the truly evil character of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad must read it.' Simon Sebag Montefiore described the report as 'an important and essential record, chronicle and investigation of one of the most atrocious crimes of terroristic barbarity in modern history'. The report found a total of 1,182 people were killed in a 'large-scale, coordinated assault' by around 7,000 Hamas militants that had been years in the planning. Civilians accounted for 73 per cent of the victims, the report found. The oldest victim was a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor. Along with Ms Kalderon and the Popplewell brothers, the other British nationals killed by Hamas were: Bernard Cowan, 57; Sgt Nathanel Young, 20; Danny Darlington, 34; Jake Aaron Marlowe, 26; Aner Shapira, 22; Sgt Maj Dvora Abraham, 40; Yonatan Rapoport, 41; Lianne Sharabi, 48; Noiya Sharabi, 16; Yahel Sharabi, 13; Maj Benjamin Trakeniski, 32; Yannai and Liel Hetzroni-Heller, both 12; Sgt 1st Class Joseph Malachi Guedalia, 22; Dor Hanan Shafir, 30. Kemi Badenoch, Conservative Party Leader, said 'We have seen a rise in anti-Semitism since October 7th. On streets across Britain, weekly marches have spewed modern-day hatred of the Jews, often under the guise of 'anti-Zionism'. 'Too many are still deliberately distorting the events of that terrible day, which is why this factual record is an important reminder of what actually happened. 'As this report makes clear, it was a highly coordinated massacre of the Jewish people, including eighteen British nationals, by terrorists. I have personally heard horrific stories from parents whose children were stolen from them, and from first responders who witnessed sexual violence against women and girls. 'These atrocities unfolded before our eyes, and we must never allow anyone to undermine or justify unspeakable terror.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Youngest October 7 victim was just 14 hours old when his mother was shot in the womb
The youngest victim of the October 7 massacre was just 14 hours old, a UK parliamentary report has found. The study also disclosed the existence of another Briton who died in the attack, bringing the total number of UK citizens killed to 18. Lord Roberts, the historian who has presided over the report, said its purpose was to produce a definitive account of the Hamas attacks to 'counter pernicious' attempts at denying or minimising the atrocities. The report's main findings – corroborating studies that have come out of Israel – found that planning by Hamas had begun in 2018, five years before the massacre; and that 7,000 militants had taken part in a 'co-ordinated assault' launched from Gaza on 55 separate locations in Israel. It also confirmed that the desecration of corpses had been 'widespread', including the beheading and mutilation of dead bodies which had also been booby-trapped with grenades. The October 7 Parliamentary Commission Report further concluded that 'acts of sexual violence ' had occurred 'across all sites' during the attack and that several fully or partially naked bodies from the waist down had been recovered, corroborating previous findings by the United Nation 's special representative on sexual violence. The youngest victim was identified as Naama abu Rashed, who suffered a gunshot wound while still in his mother's womb. He died just 14 hours after doctors performed an emergency delivery. The baby, the daughter of Bedouin parents, was born alive but died at 10pm on the day of the attacks. Her mother – also named Naama – had woken her husband in the early hours of October 7 to tell him she had started to have labour pains. She was nine months pregnant. The family, who are Israeli citizens, left their home in Ar'ara, according to the parliamentary report, travelling at speed in the direction of Soroka hospital in Be'er Sheba. But Hamas terrorists had set up a blockade at a road junction. 'Bullet had hit the baby' The report states: 'At the Magen junction they came up to two vehicles that had stopped. Abu Rashed 'blinked his lights' and saw a truck with a carpet in the back. Suddenly, someone in the truck moved the carpet to reveal a machine gun and opened fire at the car. It then drove away. 'Naama alerted her husband that she was bleeding from her stomach and they tried to race to the hospital.' But Naama's husband Tarafi was forced to pull over a second time to change a tyre which had been shot out by the gunmen. The family came under Hamas attack a second time before an Israeli ambulance arrived and rushed them to hospital. The report states: 'Naama survived, but the bullet had hit the baby, still in the uterus, in her leg…. Although the baby was born alive – and was named Na'ama – she died at 22:00.63. At 14 hours old, she was the youngest of Hamas' victims on 7 October.' The report – for the first time – names all 18 British nationals killed in the attacks. It confirms that Rotem Kalderon, a 66-year-old teacher and resident of Kibbutz Be'eri, held dual UK-Israeli nationality. Mrs Kalderon had not previously been named in lists of British casualties. Her body remained missing and unidentified for two weeks after the attack on the kibbutz which borders Gaza. Sixteen British nationals killed in the initial attack had already been identified, along with a further UK citizen, 51-year-old Nadav Popplewell, who died while being held as a hostage by Hamas. His brother Roi Popplewell was killed in his home. Mrs Kalderon, a mother-of-three, locked herself in a safe room in her kibbutz house and messaged family and friends for two hours until her death at the hands of the terrorists. 'The most beautiful wife and mother' On Facebook, her daughter Mika Kalderon posted a tribute. Mrs Kalderon was born and raised on Kibbutz Be'eri but she had taken dual citizenship. Her father Michael Goodrich had emigrated to Israel, having worked as a PE teacher in the UK. Her daughter Mika Kalderon, wrote in a eulogy posted on Facebook after her mother's body was found: 'A week ago, we said goodbye to our beloved mother. The most beautiful wife and mother, vocal, free and inspiring. An inspiration, who always fought to fulfil yourself, who followed your dreams and who always listened and touched everyone.' She continued, 'I love you, and my heart is broken to pieces, but I promise to find the strength to continue. And when you meet Dad, hug him tight and raise a toast to our lives.' Writing in the foreword to the October 7 report, commissioned and published by the All Party Parliamentary Group for UK-Israel, Lord Roberts said: ' Holocaust denial took a few years to take root in pockets of society, but on 7 October 2023 it took only hours for people to claim that the massacres in southern Israel had not taken place. ' Hamas and its allies, both in the Middle East and equally shamefully in the West, have sought to deny the atrocities, despite the ironic fact that much of the evidence for the massacres derives from film footage from cameras carried by the terrorists themselves. 'The present Report has been undertaken to counter such pernicious views, and to lay down incontrovertible proof – for now and for the years to come – that nearly 1,200 innocent people were indeed murdered by Hamas and its allies, and very often in scenes of sadistic barbarism not seen in world history since the Rape of Nanjing in 1937.' He said the emergence of 'several' parliamentary candidates who had 'openly attempted to justify the October 7 atrocities' at last year's general election was evidence of a 'perversion of reason and rejection of human decency'. Lord Roberts' report has received backing from fellow historians in providing an 'irrefutable record' of what happened on October 7. Sir Niall Ferguson, a senior fellow at Harvard and Stanford universities, said: 'Those who wish to understand the repulsive, pathological nature of anti-Semitism should read the report. Those who doubt the truly evil character of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad must read it.' Simon Sebag Montefiore described the report as 'an important and essential record, chronicle and investigation of one of the most atrocious crimes of terroristic barbarity in modern history'. The report found a total of 1,182 people were killed in a 'large-scale, coordinated assault' by around 7,000 Hamas militants that had been years in the planning. Civilians accounted for 73 per cent of the victims, the report found. The oldest victim was a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor. Along with Ms Kalderon and the Popplewell brothers, the other British nationals killed by Hamas were: Bernard Cowan, 57; Sgt Nathanel Young, 20; Danny Darlington, 34; Jake Aaron Marlowe, 26; Aner Shapira, 22; Sgt Maj Dvora Abraham, 40; Yonatan Rapoport, 41; Lianne Sharabi, 48; Noiya Sharabi, 16; Yahel Sharabi, 13; Maj Benjamin Trakeniski, 32; Yannai and Liel Hetzroni-Heller, both 12; Sgt 1st Class Joseph Malachi Guedalia, 22; Dor Hanan Shafir, 30. Kemi Badenoch, Conservative Party Leader, said 'We have seen a rise in anti-Semitism since October 7th. On streets across Britain, weekly marches have spewed modern-day hatred of the Jews, often under the guise of ' anti-Zionism '. 'Too many are still deliberately distorting the events of that terrible day, which is why this factual record is an important reminder of what actually happened. 'As this report makes clear, it was a highly coordinated massacre of the Jewish people, including eighteen British nationals, by terrorists. I have personally heard horrific stories from parents whose children were stolen from them, and from first responders who witnessed sexual violence against women and girls. 'These atrocities unfolded before our eyes, and we must never allow anyone to undermine or justify unspeakable terror.'
CNN
13-02-2025
- CNN
‘They didn't treat them nice'
Daniella Gilboa has wasted no time in putting the joy back into her life after being released from 15 months in captivity in Gaza. She got engaged to her longtime boyfriend and sang at a party when she and other freed hostages left the hospital. 'Daniella is happy to be free, she's happy to do things that she likes without anyone telling her … not to do it,' her mother Orly told CNN. 'She understands that we just live once, and she wants to do everything. She's just a young girl.' But Orly knows that what she is seeing in these first days after Daniella's release is just the surface. 'There are a lot of things under and I'm sure that we can see them when the days go by.' It's the same for Naama Levy and Liri Albag, released alongside Daniella on January 25, their mothers said. They appear physically healthy, and they are home. But they were imprisoned in Gaza for 477 days and free less than three weeks, so much of their recovery is yet to come. 'She's back in her room,' Ayelet Levy Shachar said of her daughter and her girly pink bedroom complete with soft toys. 'Although she does prefer to sleep with her mom at night.' Naama, Liri and Daniella were all in their teens on October 7, 2023, when Hamas fighters stormed their outpost at Kibbutz Nahal Oz near the border with Gaza. They were performing their mandatory military service as unarmed 'spotters,' tasked with looking at activity inside Gaza and reporting back to commanders at another base. Fifteen of their fellow spotters were killed in the surprise militant attack on communities and a music festival that left 1,200 Israelis dead and 250 kidnapped in the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. The Israeli war on Hamas that followed has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, injured twice as many and leveled much of Gaza. Daniella, Liri and Naama were captured with four more young women: Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Ori Megidish and Noa Marciano. Ori was rescued weeks after the attack, while Noa was killed in Gaza. Karina was also released on January 25, while Agam was freed five days later. Video taken by Hamas on October 7 and later released by the women's families showed the female soldiers being lined up against a wall by men with rifles. Their hands were bound behind them, and they were ordered to sit, many still in their pajamas, their faces and bodies spattered with blood. On the day of the attack, with no word from Naama, Ayelet had first thought maybe her daughter was just unable to reach her in the chaos. But then she saw a video of Naama being dragged by her hair, her pants covered in blood, and being shoved into a vehicle. It became one of the most viral and searing videos of the Hamas attack, one which Ayelet told CNN she could not watch in its entirety. But like so many other family members of the stolen Israelis, she did interviews and wrote op-eds to keep attention on her child and raise pressure for a solution. And unknown to her, her daughter saw it too. 'She saw the video, she knew about it, and she did see myself and her father in different interviews,' Ayelet said. 'She heard sometimes on the radio her brother speaking, her grandfather speaking. It wasn't an everyday thing, but sometimes she was exposed to the media, and it did give her a lot of strength and support and helped her throughout those days. 'She waited to catch a glimpse of one of us. She told me even that she was following with the color of my hair during this time,' Ayelet added with a laugh. Naama was wounded by shrapnel that day. Some she was later able to pick out of her skin; the rest remains in her body, Ayelet said. Naama and Liri had only arrived at the outpost a couple of days before the attack, but Daniella had already been there nine months, her mom said. Orly knows Daniella was hit in the leg that day, but much else is still unknown. 'October 7 is the most hard thing for her to speak about, and I don't ask her about it,' Orly said. 'She didn't tell me yet about what happened that day. I just know that she lost a lot of her good friends … The loss of them is very hard for her, even more than the period of time of the captivity … I assume that in a few days or a few months, she'll decide to talk about it, and she will tell me about it herself. I don't want to make any pain for her.' The mothers have learned a little about the conditions their girls, all now 20 years old, were kept in. Shira Albag said Liri was held with Agam Berger, and sometimes Naama. 'Liri most of the time was in apartments with civilians,' she said. 'It was difficult because they needed to do some things for the people of the house — to clean the house and to cook for them and to sit with the children and try to teach them English or play with them.' Despite the physical closeness, there was little human kindness. 'They didn't treat them nice,' she said of the captors. Amit Soussana, a woman freed in November 2023, has credited Liri for saving her life. She said the militants were convinced she was in the Israeli military and tied her up and beat her as they demanded a confession. At one point, other hostages were brought in to pressure her. Instead, Liri spoke to the guard and persuaded the captors that Amit was not a soldier. 'It seems like Liri, but I heard this story from Amit. Liri didn't tell us yet the story,' Shira said. 'I know it was very difficult for her. She saved Amit's life. But when Liri will be ready, she will tell the story herself.' Liri, Daniella and Naama were, along with Karina Ariev, the second group of hostages to be released under the first phase of the ceasefire deal. In a highly choreographed handover, they were paraded on a stage, dressed in olive-green military style outfits, and given certificates about their release and 'gift bags' including souvenir keychains. Their release was in marked contrast to the chaotic first handover of the 2025 truce and they seemed healthier than the three pale, emaciated men freed on Saturday. Daniella watched that last release with her mother and talked about the condition of one of the men — her cousin Eli Sharabi. 'Daniella told me, 'Mama, just know that if we were released two months ago, I looked like Eli' because she also lost a lot of weight there,' Orly said. A change happened two or three months ago when Daniella and Karina were separated from other captives. And instead of four of them having to share one plate of food, then it was just two. 'It's important to understand that we see Daniella, how she looks like right now, it doesn't mean anything about what happened there and how she felt there.' Hamas and its allies still hold a total of 73 people — some believed to be dead — taken from Israel during the October 7 attacks. Three additional hostages, held captive since 2014, are also still in Gaza. Ayelet took time to thank US President Donald Trump for getting the ceasefire deal done and allowing the release of hostages. The terms of the deal map closely to an agreement then-President Joe Biden unveiled last May but could not complete. Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defense minister until November, told Israel's Channel 12 News earlier this month that Hamas had agreed to that deal in July, but Israel did not go along with it. 'Unfortunately, there are fewer hostages still alive now, more time has passed, and we are paying a heavier price,' he said. Ayelet echoed that sentiment. 'They could have been home sooner. They should have been home sooner,' she said. The drive and passion shown by the families and much of Israel over nearly 500 days to get the hostages freed is ramping up to a new urgency as the truce — and hope for more releases — hangs by a thread. 'We need to see them all home now,' Ayelet said.
CNN
13-02-2025
- CNN
‘They didn't treat them nice'
Daniella Gilboa has wasted no time in putting the joy back into her life after being released from 15 months in captivity in Gaza. She got engaged to her longtime boyfriend and sang at a party when she and other freed hostages left the hospital. 'Daniella is happy to be free, she's happy to do things that she likes without anyone telling her … not to do it,' her mother Orly told CNN. 'She understands that we just live once, and she wants to do everything. She's just a young girl.' But Orly knows that what she is seeing in these first days after Daniella's release is just the surface. 'There are a lot of things under and I'm sure that we can see them when the days go by.' It's the same for Naama Levy and Liri Albag, released alongside Daniella on January 25, their mothers said. They appear physically healthy, and they are home. But they were imprisoned in Gaza for 477 days and free less than three weeks, so much of their recovery is yet to come. 'She's back in her room,' Ayelet Levy Shachar said of her daughter and her girly pink bedroom complete with soft toys. 'Although she does prefer to sleep with her mom at night.' Naama, Liri and Daniella were all in their teens on October 7, 2023, when Hamas fighters stormed their outpost at Kibbutz Nahal Oz near the border with Gaza. They were performing their mandatory military service as unarmed 'spotters,' tasked with looking at activity inside Gaza and reporting back to commanders at another base. Fifteen of their fellow spotters were killed in the surprise militant attack on communities and a music festival that left 1,200 Israelis dead and 250 kidnapped in the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. The Israeli war on Hamas that followed has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, injured twice as many and leveled much of Gaza. Daniella, Liri and Naama were captured with four more young women: Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Ori Megidish and Noa Marciano. Ori was rescued weeks after the attack, while Noa was killed in Gaza. Karina was also released on January 25, while Agam was freed five days later. Video taken by Hamas on October 7 and later released by the women's families showed the female soldiers being lined up against a wall by men with rifles. Their hands were bound behind them, and they were ordered to sit, many still in their pajamas, their faces and bodies spattered with blood. On the day of the attack, with no word from Naama, Ayelet had first thought maybe her daughter was just unable to reach her in the chaos. But then she saw a video of Naama being dragged by her hair, her pants covered in blood, and being shoved into a vehicle. It became one of the most viral and searing videos of the Hamas attack, one which Ayelet told CNN she could not watch in its entirety. But like so many other family members of the stolen Israelis, she did interviews and wrote op-eds to keep attention on her child and raise pressure for a solution. And unknown to her, her daughter saw it too. 'She saw the video, she knew about it, and she did see myself and her father in different interviews,' Ayelet said. 'She heard sometimes on the radio her brother speaking, her grandfather speaking. It wasn't an everyday thing, but sometimes she was exposed to the media, and it did give her a lot of strength and support and helped her throughout those days. 'She waited to catch a glimpse of one of us. She told me even that she was following with the color of my hair during this time,' Ayelet added with a laugh. Naama was wounded by shrapnel that day. Some she was later able to pick out of her skin; the rest remains in her body, Ayelet said. Naama and Liri had only arrived at the outpost a couple of days before the attack, but Daniella had already been there nine months, her mom said. Orly knows Daniella was hit in the leg that day, but much else is still unknown. 'October 7 is the most hard thing for her to speak about, and I don't ask her about it,' Orly said. 'She didn't tell me yet about what happened that day. I just know that she lost a lot of her good friends … The loss of them is very hard for her, even more than the period of time of the captivity … I assume that in a few days or a few months, she'll decide to talk about it, and she will tell me about it herself. I don't want to make any pain for her.' The mothers have learned a little about the conditions their girls, all now 20 years old, were kept in. Shira Albag said Liri was held with Agam Berger, and sometimes Naama. 'Liri most of the time was in apartments with civilians,' she said. 'It was difficult because they needed to do some things for the people of the house — to clean the house and to cook for them and to sit with the children and try to teach them English or play with them.' Despite the physical closeness, there was little human kindness. 'They didn't treat them nice,' she said of the captors. Amit Soussana, a woman freed in November 2023, has credited Liri for saving her life. She said the militants were convinced she was in the Israeli military and tied her up and beat her as they demanded a confession. At one point, other hostages were brought in to pressure her. Instead, Liri spoke to the guard and persuaded the captors that Amit was not a soldier. 'It seems like Liri, but I heard this story from Amit. Liri didn't tell us yet the story,' Shira said. 'I know it was very difficult for her. She saved Amit's life. But when Liri will be ready, she will tell the story herself.' Liri, Daniella and Naama were, along with Karina Ariev, the second group of hostages to be released under the first phase of the ceasefire deal. In a highly choreographed handover, they were paraded on a stage, dressed in olive-green military style outfits, and given certificates about their release and 'gift bags' including souvenir keychains. Their release was in marked contrast to the chaotic first handover of the 2025 truce and they seemed healthier than the three pale, emaciated men freed on Saturday. Daniella watched that last release with her mother and talked about the condition of one of the men — her cousin Eli Sharabi. 'Daniella told me, 'Mama, just know that if we were released two months ago, I looked like Eli' because she also lost a lot of weight there,' Orly said. A change happened two or three months ago when Daniella and Karina were separated from other captives. And instead of four of them having to share one plate of food, then it was just two. 'It's important to understand that we see Daniella, how she looks like right now, it doesn't mean anything about what happened there and how she felt there.' Hamas and its allies still hold a total of 73 people — some believed to be dead — taken from Israel during the October 7 attacks. Three additional hostages, held captive since 2014, are also still in Gaza. Ayelet took time to thank US President Donald Trump for getting the ceasefire deal done and allowing the release of hostages. The terms of the deal map closely to an agreement then-President Joe Biden unveiled last May but could not complete. Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defense minister until November, told Israel's Channel 12 News earlier this month that Hamas had agreed to that deal in July, but Israel did not go along with it. 'Unfortunately, there are fewer hostages still alive now, more time has passed, and we are paying a heavier price,' he said. Ayelet echoed that sentiment. 'They could have been home sooner. They should have been home sooner,' she said. The drive and passion shown by the families and much of Israel over nearly 500 days to get the hostages freed is ramping up to a new urgency as the truce — and hope for more releases — hangs by a thread. 'We need to see them all home now,' Ayelet said.
CNN
13-02-2025
- CNN
‘They didn't treat them nice'
Daniella Gilboa has wasted no time in putting the joy back into her life after being released from 15 months in captivity in Gaza. She got engaged to her longtime boyfriend and sang at a party when she and other freed hostages left the hospital. 'Daniella is happy to be free, she's happy to do things that she likes without anyone telling her … not to do it,' her mother Orly told CNN. 'She understands that we just live once, and she wants to do everything. She's just a young girl.' But Orly knows that what she is seeing in these first days after Daniella's release is just the surface. 'There are a lot of things under and I'm sure that we can see them when the days go by.' It's the same for Naama Levy and Liri Albag, released alongside Daniella on January 25, their mothers said. They appear physically healthy, and they are home. But they were imprisoned in Gaza for 477 days and free less than three weeks, so much of their recovery is yet to come. 'She's back in her room,' Ayelet Levy Shachar said of her daughter and her girly pink bedroom complete with soft toys. 'Although she does prefer to sleep with her mom at night.' Naama, Liri and Daniella were all in their teens on October 7, 2023, when Hamas fighters stormed their outpost at Kibbutz Nahal Oz near the border with Gaza. They were performing their mandatory military service as unarmed 'spotters,' tasked with looking at activity inside Gaza and reporting back to commanders at another base. Fifteen of their fellow spotters were killed in the surprise militant attack on communities and a music festival that left 1,200 Israelis dead and 250 kidnapped in the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. The Israeli war on Hamas that followed has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, injured twice as many and leveled much of Gaza. Daniella, Liri and Naama were captured with four more young women: Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Ori Megidish and Noa Marciano. Ori was rescued weeks after the attack, while Noa was killed in Gaza. Karina was also released on January 25, while Agam was freed five days later. Video taken by Hamas on October 7 and later released by the women's families showed the female soldiers being lined up against a wall by men with rifles. Their hands were bound behind them, and they were ordered to sit, many still in their pajamas, their faces and bodies spattered with blood. On the day of the attack, with no word from Naama, Ayelet had first thought maybe her daughter was just unable to reach her in the chaos. But then she saw a video of Naama being dragged by her hair, her pants covered in blood, and being shoved into a vehicle. It became one of the most viral and searing videos of the Hamas attack, one which Ayelet told CNN she could not watch in its entirety. But like so many other family members of the stolen Israelis, she did interviews and wrote op-eds to keep attention on her child and raise pressure for a solution. And unknown to her, her daughter saw it too. 'She saw the video, she knew about it, and she did see myself and her father in different interviews,' Ayelet said. 'She heard sometimes on the radio her brother speaking, her grandfather speaking. It wasn't an everyday thing, but sometimes she was exposed to the media, and it did give her a lot of strength and support and helped her throughout those days. 'She waited to catch a glimpse of one of us. She told me even that she was following with the color of my hair during this time,' Ayelet added with a laugh. Naama was wounded by shrapnel that day. Some she was later able to pick out of her skin; the rest remains in her body, Ayelet said. Naama and Liri had only arrived at the outpost a couple of days before the attack, but Daniella had already been there nine months, her mom said. Orly knows Daniella was hit in the leg that day, but much else is still unknown. 'October 7 is the most hard thing for her to speak about, and I don't ask her about it,' Orly said. 'She didn't tell me yet about what happened that day. I just know that she lost a lot of her good friends … The loss of them is very hard for her, even more than the period of time of the captivity … I assume that in a few days or a few months, she'll decide to talk about it, and she will tell me about it herself. I don't want to make any pain for her.' The mothers have learned a little about the conditions their girls, all now 20 years old, were kept in. Shira Albag said Liri was held with Agam Berger, and sometimes Naama. 'Liri most of the time was in apartments with civilians,' she said. 'It was difficult because they needed to do some things for the people of the house — to clean the house and to cook for them and to sit with the children and try to teach them English or play with them.' Despite the physical closeness, there was little human kindness. 'They didn't treat them nice,' she said of the captors. Amit Soussana, a woman freed in November 2023, has credited Liri for saving her life. She said the militants were convinced she was in the Israeli military and tied her up and beat her as they demanded a confession. At one point, other hostages were brought in to pressure her. Instead, Liri spoke to the guard and persuaded the captors that Amit was not a soldier. 'It seems like Liri, but I heard this story from Amit. Liri didn't tell us yet the story,' Shira said. 'I know it was very difficult for her. She saved Amit's life. But when Liri will be ready, she will tell the story herself.' Liri, Daniella and Naama were, along with Karina Ariev, the second group of hostages to be released under the first phase of the ceasefire deal. In a highly choreographed handover, they were paraded on a stage, dressed in olive-green military style outfits, and given certificates about their release and 'gift bags' including souvenir keychains. Their release was in marked contrast to the chaotic first handover of the 2025 truce and they seemed healthier than the three pale, emaciated men freed on Saturday. Daniella watched that last release with her mother and talked about the condition of one of the men — her cousin Eli Sharabi. 'Daniella told me, 'Mama, just know that if we were released two months ago, I looked like Eli' because she also lost a lot of weight there,' Orly said. A change happened two or three months ago when Daniella and Karina were separated from other captives. And instead of four of them having to share one plate of food, then it was just two. 'It's important to understand that we see Daniella, how she looks like right now, it doesn't mean anything about what happened there and how she felt there.' Hamas and its allies still hold a total of 73 people — some believed to be dead — taken from Israel during the October 7 attacks. Three additional hostages, held captive since 2014, are also still in Gaza. Ayelet took time to thank US President Donald Trump for getting the ceasefire deal done and allowing the release of hostages. The terms of the deal map closely to an agreement then-President Joe Biden unveiled last May but could not complete. Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defense minister until November, told Israel's Channel 12 News earlier this month that Hamas had agreed to that deal in July, but Israel did not go along with it. 'Unfortunately, there are fewer hostages still alive now, more time has passed, and we are paying a heavier price,' he said. Ayelet echoed that sentiment. 'They could have been home sooner. They should have been home sooner,' she said. The drive and passion shown by the families and much of Israel over nearly 500 days to get the hostages freed is ramping up to a new urgency as the truce — and hope for more releases — hangs by a thread. 'We need to see them all home now,' Ayelet said.
