Four hostages released by Hamas have revealed the hell they endured at the hands of the terrorists in a recently released video – while calling for the release of the rest of the prisoners.
Danielle Aloni, 45, Ditza Heiman, 84, Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, and Yaffa Adar, 85, gave their testimony before The Missing Families and Hostages Forum, a campaign group founded in Israel because 136 hostages remain trapped in Gaza.
The harrowing stories of torture and starvation in the vast 'spider web' of tunnels under Gaza were broadcast last week during a rally in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square.
Aloni was visiting her sister at Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 when she and her six-year-old daughter Emilia were kidnapped. They spent the next 49 days in captivity.
'You're sleeping… you're crying. Every additional day that passes is like an infinite eternity,” she said, shaking as she recalled the torturous events.
Danielle Aloni, 45, and her daughter Emilia, 6, spent 49 days in captivity. She spoke of the desperation and her heartbreak while other family members are still there
Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, spent 17 days in captivity. She holds a photo of her husband Oded Lifschitz, 84, who was not released and remains in Gaza, along with 85 of their friends
In the video, she is dressed in black and hangs a silver dog tag chain around her neck for the hostages left, including herself brother-in-law, his brother, his partner and his brother's partner.
'It was a horror show. You feel like you have to pinch yourself to wake up from this nightmare,” she recalled. 'It was terrifying. It was scary. There is no daily program. There is nothing,” she said.
Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, spent 17 days in a tunnel, which she described as a “spider's web,” before being released on October 24.
'I hardly slept. “I had a problem with the food and the last four days there I got sick,” she said. “They were afraid I would spread disease in the tunnels.”
'Every day is crucial. Living conditions are very difficult and oxygen in the tunnels is running out,” she said.
Her husband Oded Lifshitz, 83, remains detained in Gaza, as do 85 of their friends. She urged the government to immediately bring them back “without hesitation.”
'We are waiting for you. We love you,” she said, “come home.”
Gloomy music played in the video as a black screen flashed with the caption: “136 people are still in captivity by Hamas. Every minute is hell.'
Eighty-four-year-old Ditza Heiman spent 53 days in captivity and was released on November 28.
'It is more life-threatening than the threat to someone's life. It is also a risk to the soul,” she said, describing the harrowing events.
As the days and weeks passed, Heiman said food became scarcer, describing it as “almost famine.”
“As time passes, the damage increases and the body's ability to tolerate is reduced,” she said. “We have to get them back now and do whatever it takes to make it happen.”
Eighty-four-year-old Ditza Heiman spent 53 days in captivity and was released on November 28. 'It is more life-threatening than the threat to someone's life. It is also a risk to the soul,” she said, describing the harrowing events
“I spent 49 days in that hell,” said Yaffa Adar, who was kidnapped from her kibbutz Kfar Aza and put on a scooter by Hamas and spent 49 days in captivity. Her grandson Tamir Adar is still in prison
Yaffar Adar, 85, who was held for 49 days, reported on November 24.
Her grandson Tamir Adar, 38, married and the father of two children, is still being held hostage.
“I spent 49 days in that hell,” she said.
The elderly woman was kidnapped from her kibbutz, Kfar Aza. Video of her riding in a buggy with her captors was broadcast on television during the first few days of the attack.
It is unclear what physical injuries she suffered, but in the video Adra had a bandage on her left arm.
She spoke deliberately: “I ask and beg all decision makers to get the children out. Take them all out.”
'Free the children now! I want to see them now!' she said. “Not if I'm going to be in a coffin.”
On December 5, a week before the video was released, a cabinet meeting was held in Herzliya with some of the released hostages and their families.
Yaffar Adar, 85, was kidnapped from her kibbutz, Kfar Aza. Video of her riding in a buggy with her captors was broadcast on television during the first few days of the attack
Adar is transported by terrorists in a buggy during the October 7 attack
During the meeting, many revealed the inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment they suffered. The names of those who spoke have not been released.
One hostage sobbed as they said, “They're touching our girls.”
Another complained: 'I thought I was going to die, I wanted to be shot.'
One hostage held for 51 days said: “I was dehydrated, they didn't give us water, they are inhumane.”
Another spoke of the humiliation: “They shaved off all of Dad's body hair to humiliate him.”
The daughter of a freed hostage said her mother almost fainted during the meeting. “She knows what's going on there. “She saw what was done to men,” she said.
Some talked about the clothes they should wear. “They dressed us in hijabs and head coverings so that Israel would not distinguish us from them,” the released hostage said.
Aloni was part of the first group of hostages released on November 24 during a temporary ceasefire between Qatar and the United States.
During the seven-day ceasefire that collapsed on December 1, a total of 110 hostages were freed and 240 Palestinian hostages released from Israeli prisons. But 136 hostages remain in captivity.
On Tuesday, the United Nations General Assembly demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, which received global support.
More than three-quarters of the 193-member assembly supported the proposal, which was rejected by the United States in the Security Council last week.
There were 153 votes in favor, 10 against and 23 abstained.