Four female hostages, Karina Ariev, Liri Albag, Daniella Gilboa, and Naama Levy, were released from Hamas captivity, after being held hostage for 477 days under horrific conditions.
By Rachel Avraham
Last Shabbat, four female hostages, Karina Ariev, Liri Albag, Daniella Gilboa, and Naama Levy, were released from Hamas captivity, after being held hostage for 477 days under horrific conditions. The four were IDF lookouts that were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nahal Oz on October 7, 2023, after their military base was overrun by Hamas terrorists. 15 other soldiers on their base were massacred on that same horrific day, the Times of Israel reported.
In the footage that was released of them from October 7, one of the soldiers is seen limping as she is being taken hostage, wearing night shorts. Another one, Naama Levy, was taken hostage in bloodied sweatpants, with blood flowing from between her legs. In the same footage, the Hamas terrorists noted that all of the female soldiers were capable of getting pregnant. After this footage emerged, Naama Levy became a symbol of the sexual violence that took place on October 7.
Naama Levy prior to joining the IDF volunteered both for the United Nations and the Red Cross. She also volunteered for Hands of Peace, an organization which promoted peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians. Naama even told her Hamas captors that she had “friends in Palestine,” hoping it will lead to her getting better treatment. Unfortunately, it did not. Naama, like all of the other female hostages, were denied proper medical care for her injuries.
Nevertheless, Naama Levy became a household name in Israel and her bloodied image was a rallying cry to free all the hostages. Jerusalem Post’s editor-in-chief Zvika Klein commented, “Her journey from promoting peace to becoming a symbol of the struggle for justice underscores the enduring human spirit’s capacity for resilience and the relentless pursuit of peace amidst conflict.”
Throughout their captivity, all four female hostages were constantly moved around disguised as Arab women, moving between civilian apartments and Hamas tunnels. Some of the time, they were even held in cages, the Jerusalem Post reported. One of the four was held in a tunnel alone for a long time, in the dark, in conditions in which it was hard to breathe, the Times of Israel reported. While in captivity, the female soldiers underwent forced labor, which they had to do regardless how they were feeling. Their Hamas captors forced them to clean the toilets, cook for them and to be nannies for their children, while declining to let them bathe and undergo basic hygiene for months on end and starving them.
Daniela’s aunt, Eti Schwartz, told Kan Bet: “I can’t share much, but I was told she ate a pita or two a day until their stomachs swelled. Sometimes they cooked, but they wouldn’t eat from it. She was in a tunnel, in darkness, but at least they were together—that was their luck.”
The Jerusalem Post reported that they were forced to drink seawater and ate only bread and rice during their time in captivity. The Times of Israel even claimed that there were times when they were completely denied nourishment, but still had to cook, clean and take care of their captors children. According to the report, Hamas gave them a rapid rehabilitation process that included nutritious food and stimulants before their release, so that they would appear better than they are.
However, TBN News reported that the girls had bruises all over their bodies, indicating that they endured rough treatment. According to reports in the Israeli media, Hamas referred to them as the “female soldiers” and treated them with contempt.
On the day of their release, they were paraded in front of a group of Hamas terrorists, who sought to humiliate them one last time before handing them over to the Red Cross. Fortunately, the four girls showed themselves to be stronger, holding up their heads high and waving to the crowd of terrorists, with big smiles on their faces, despite everything that they endured. As one of the hostages related, “We showed them that it didn’t affect us. We are stronger than that.”
According to various reports in the Israeli media, the four female IDF soldiers were held together with Agam Berger, another female soldier who remains in Hamas captivity and should be released next Saturday. The hostages related that it was very difficult for them to be separated from her. I24 News reported that Naama Levy also shared her captivity with Doron Steinbrecher, who was released the previous week. Apparently, the two of them did sport together in order to maintain their spirits.
I24 News reported that in the early days of their captivity, an elderly man watched over them, facilitating their access to food and showers, and serving as a go-between with the captors. He ensured that they could eat and wash. But after he died, that all came to an abrupt end. Their captors, in addition to forcing them to be cooks, cleaning ladies and nannies while denying them the basic right to shower and eat a proper meal, also paraded them in front of prominent Hamas figures, who treated them horribly.
Due to the conditions in which they found themselves, the four girls managed to learn fluent Arabic and they were exposed to Al Jazeera News, which enabled them to follow what was happening in the world. Karina Ariev’s Arabic teacher shared with Israel Hayom: “Throughout this period, I hoped that her knowledge of Arabic helped her there. I hoped it was a tool she could rely on. On the one hand, it’s heartbreaking that she used the language in such tragic circumstances, but on the other, it’s a skill she had, and I hope it served her well. Even if it was just to understand what was said around her or to ask for something – it mattered.”
