Mothers report the suffering of their kidnapped daughters at the hands of Hamas

Mothers report the suffering of their kidnapped daughters at the hands of Hamas

Daniella Gilboa wasted no time in bringing joy back into her life after her release from 15 months of captivity in the Gaza Strip. She got engaged to her long-time boyfriend and sung at a celebration, as she and other freed hostages left the hospital.

Wishes and hopes for freedom

"Daniella is happy to be free. She's happy to do things she likes without anyone telling her not to," her mother Orly told CNN. "She understands that we only live once and she wants to try everything. She's just a young girl."

The challenges of returning

But Orly knows that what she sees in the first days after Daniella's release is only the surface. “There are a lot of things that lie underneath that I’m sure we’ll see as the days go by.”

Naama Levy and Liri Albag have a similar experience were released on January 25th along with Daniella, their mothers reported. They appear physically healthy and are at home. But they have been held captive in Gaza for 477 days and have only been free for less than three weeks, meaning their full recovery is yet to come.

The details of captivity

“She’s back in her room,” Ayelet Levy Shachar said of her daughter and her girly, pink room filled with stuffed animals. "Although she prefers to sleep with her mom at night."

Naama, Liri and Daniella were still teenagers on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants raided their outpost on Kibbutz Nahal Oz, near the Gaza border. They performed their mandatory service as unarmed “spotters” who monitored activities in the Gaza Strip and passed reports to commanders elsewhere.

Losses and their effects

Fifteen of her comrades-in-arms were killed in the surprise military attack killings at communities and a music festival that left 1,200 Israelis dead and 250 kidnapped - the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. The Israeli war against Hamas that followed has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, injured twice as many and destroyed much of the Gaza Strip.

Daniella, Liri and Naama were captured along with four other 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.

The shocking images

Videos taken by Hamas on October 7th and later published by the women's families show the female soldiers being pushed against a wall by armed men. Their hands were tied behind their backs and they were ordered to sit, many still in their pajamas, their faces and bodies splattered with blood.

On the day of the attack, with no news from Naama, Ayelet initially thought her daughter simply couldn't get to her because of the chaos. But then she saw a video, in which Naama was dragged by her hair, blood smeared on her pants, and forced into a vehicle.

Media presence as support

The video became one of the most viral and harrowing videos of the Hamas attack, which Ayelet, she told CNN, was unable to watch in full. But like many other relatives of the kidnapped Israelis, she gave interviews and wrote op-eds to draw attention to her child and increase pressure for a solution.

And unknown to her, her daughter also saw the video.

“She saw the video, knew about it and saw me and her father in various interviews,” Ayelet said. "Sometimes she heard her brother speaking on the radio, her grandfather. It wasn't every day, but sometimes she was exposed to the media, which gave her a lot of strength and support and helped her in those days."

The role of mothers

These statements show the impact of the media coverage that supported the hostages during their time of suffering. The mothers strive to help their daughters come to terms with the traumatizing experiences and are always at their side.

"Daniella told me that she was waiting to be able to see us. She even said that at the time she was pursuing the color of her hair that I had," Ayelet added with a smile.

Naama was injured by shrapnel that day. Some she was able to remove from her skin later; the remaining splinters remain in her body, said Ayelet.

Naama and Liri had only arrived at the outpost a few days before the attack, but Daniella had been there for nine months, her mother said.

Pain and loss

Orly knows that Daniella's leg was injured that day, but much else remains unexplained.

“October 7 is the hardest for her to talk about, and I don’t ask her about it,” Orly said. "She hasn't told me yet what happened that day. All I know is that she has lost many of her good friends... Losing them makes it very difficult for her, even harder than the imprisonment itself... I expect that in a few days or months she will decide to talk about it and she will tell me herself. I don't want to cause her any pain."

Conditions of captivity

The mothers learned a little about the conditions in which their daughters, now all 20 years old, were kept. Shira Albag said that Liri was imprisoned along with Agam Berger and sometimes Naama.

“Liri was in apartments with civilians most of the time,” she reported. "It was difficult because they had to do some things for the people in the house - clean the house and cook for them, as well as spend time with the children and try to teach them English or play with them."

Despite the physical proximity, there was little human kindness. “They didn’t treat her kindly,” Shira said of the kidnappers.

Amit Soussana, a woman who was released in November 2023, has praised Liri for saving her life. She said the militants were convinced she was in Israel's military and bound and beat her to force a confession. At one point other hostages were brought in to put pressure on them. Instead, Liri spoke to the security guard and convinced the kidnappers that Amit was not a soldier.

"It seems it was Liri, but I heard this story from Amit. Liri hasn't told us the story yet," Shira said. "I know it was very difficult for her. She saved Amit's life. But when Liri is ready, she will tell the story herself."

The end of captivity

Liri, Daniella and Naama, along with Karina Ariev, were part of the second group of hostages released under the first phase of the ceasefire. In a choreographed handover They were presented on a stage, dressed in olive-green, military-themed outfits, and received certificates of their release and “gift bags” with souvenir keychains.

Their release was in stark contrast to the chaotic first handover of the 2025 ceasefire, and they seemed healthier than that three pale, emaciated men who were released on Saturday.

Daniella watched the latest release with her mother and spoke about the condition of one of the men - her cousin Eli Sharabi.

“Daniella said to me, ‘Mom, please know that if we had been released two months ago, I would have looked like Eli,’ because she also lost a lot of weight,” Orly said. There was a change two or three months ago when Daniella and Karina were separated from the other prisoners. And instead of four of them having to share a plate of food, there were only two of them.

The consequences of imprisonment

"It's important to understand that what we see of Daniella as she looks now says nothing about what happened there and how she felt about it."

Hamas and its allies are still holding a total of 73 people - some believed to be dead - who came from Israel during the October 7 attacks were kidnapped. Three other hostages who have been held captive since 2014 are also still in the Gaza Strip.

Grateful for support

Ayelet took time to thank US President Donald Trump for brokering the ceasefire and allowing the hostages to be released. The terms of the deal closely match an agreement that then-President Joe Biden unveiled last May but failed to implement.

Yoav Gallant, who was Israel's defense minister until November, said in an interview with Israel's Channel 12 News earlier this month that Hamas agreed to the deal in July, but Israel did not agree to this.

“Unfortunately there are now fewer hostages still alive and time has passed and we are paying a higher price,” he said.

Ayelet also expressed these thoughts. "They could have come home earlier. They should have come home earlier," she said.

The drive and passion shown by the families and much of Israel over nearly 500 days to free the hostages is growing in urgency as the ceasefire - and the hope for further releases - hanging by a thread.

“We all need to see them home now,” Ayelet demanded.