The family of Mia Schem, a French-Israeli woman who spent 54 days in Hamas captivity after being shot and held hostage at the Nova festival, claims she was operated on by a veterinarian while stuck in Gaza.
Schem, 21, became one of the most high-profile prisoners after Hamas released a video showing her recovering from surgery in the early days of the war.
'Hello, I'm Mia Schem, 21 years old from Shoham. I am currently in Gaza. I seriously injured my hand. I had surgery on my arm in the hospital for 3 hours. They are taking care of me, giving me medicine, everything is fine,” she was heard saying.
Schem was one of eight hostages released by Hamas yesterday, hours before the seven-day ceasefire broke down and hostilities resumed early this morning.
Heartbreaking footage showed her breaking down in tears as she hugged her mother and brother, knowing her ordeal was over, hours after she was handed over to Red Cross workers by Hamas gunmen as a crowd of barking Palestinians looked on.
But Mia's aunt told Israeli media that her niece was not exactly receiving great care in captivity. 'She's skinny, she's weak. A vet operated on her arm. She did not receive any physical therapy,” she stated.
The extent of Mia's injuries has not yet been verified.
Mia Schem, 21, reunites with her mother and brother following her release after being held hostage by Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip
Mia Schem is released to the Red Cross as a crowd of Palestinians watch
Schem, 21, became one of the most high-profile prisoners after Hamas released a video showing her recovering from surgery in the early days of the war
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum describes Schem as “a young woman with an old soul” and says she studies tattooing, works in a tattoo parlor and enjoys drawing and cooking
Heartbreaking footage showed her breaking down in tears as she hugged her mother and brother, knowing her ordeal was over
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum describes Schem as “a young woman with an old soul” who studied tattooing and worked at a tattoo parlor before her kidnapping.
Mia was captured along with her friend Elia Toledano, 27, by Hamas gunmen at the Nova music festival. She is still believed to be being held captive by Hamas.
Amit Soussana, 40, was released earlier on Thursday with Mia, followed by six more hostages late last night.
Nili Margalit, 41, Sapir Cohen, 29, Shani Goren, 29, Ilana Gritzewsky, 30, Aisaha Ziadana, 17, and her brother Bilal, 18, were named as the last hostages released before the collapse of the ceasefire.
Ziadana's father Yousef and eldest brother Hamza remain in captivity.
The IDF confirmed last night that the six Israeli hostages had been handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross.
“According to information provided by the Red Cross, six Israeli abductees have been handed over to them and are on their way to Israel,” the statement said.
But fears of other hostages grew last night after Hamas said it had to hand over the bodies of three Israelis. A resumption of hostilities means that the remaining approximately one hundred hostages in Hamas captivity will remain there indefinitely.
Hamas' mention of three bodies sparked fears they could be those of 10-month-old Kfir Bibas, his brother Ariel, four, and mother Shiri, 32.
On Wednesday, Hamas's military wing had announced their deaths and blamed them on an Israeli airstrike – although they offered no evidence.
Meanwhile, IDF officials said Hamas' claims have not been verified.
IDF spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari said: “Hamas' claims about the Bibas family are still unverified. The published documentation is psychological terrorism.”
Mia Schem, a 21-year-old French-Israeli woman, is reunited with her family on November 30, 2023 after 55 days in Hamas captivity in Be'er Sheva, Israel
Schem is seen in captivity
Keren, mother of Mia Schem and representatives of the families of the kidnapped and missing persons held by Hamas militants in Gaza hold a press conference following the release of a video by Hamas
Within minutes of announcing the resumption of military action in Gaza, Israeli forces this morning bombarded the northwest with rocket fire, and planes flew overhead, according to Gaza's Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry.
The dramatic re-escalation of the conflict saw attacks in the southern Gaza regions of Khan Younis and Rafah.
Reports indicate that tanks were quickly positioned in the area, and in a tweet half an hour after the relaunch, the IDF said it had deployed “fighter aircraft” aimed at the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas “disrespected its obligation to release all kidnapped women today and fire rockets at the citizens of Israel.”
He emphasized that because the conflict is now back on, the “government of Israel is obliged to achieve the objectives of the fighting,” which he claimed includes “releasing the hostages” and “liquidating Hamas.”
During the weeklong ceasefire, Hamas and other Gaza militants released more than a hundred hostages, most of them Israelis, in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians from prisons in Israel.
But there are still more than a hundred hostages in Gaza.