A little girl who survived the Hamas attack under her father’s body and was then kidnapped from Israel to the Gaza Strip is free again. She was the first abductee who also has an American passport to be released on Sunday as part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Islamist terrorist organization.
On October 7th, the then three-year-old was at home in a kibbutz on the border with the Gaza Strip with her two siblings, aged six and ten, when the Hamas terrorists invaded. They shot the mother in front of the three children, as US media reported. When her father lay protectively over his daughter, he was also shot. Her siblings survived because they hid in a closet, where they waited for 14 hours before being rescued, it was said.
The smallest sister was initially thought to be dead. But then she crawled out from under her father’s body and ran to a neighbor’s house, they said Washington Post a relative of the girl. But there the terrorists grabbed the girl along with the five-member neighboring family and kidnapped them and around 240 other civilians to the Gaza Strip. Last Friday the little one turned four years old in captivity.
Netanyahu: She has no parents, but an entire nation
“What she had to endure is unimaginable,” said US President Joe Biden after the girl was released. “She experienced terrible trauma.”
“What a joy it is to see her with us, but on the other hand it is also sad that she is returning to a reality where she has no parents,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “She has no parents – but she has a whole nation that embraces her and we will take care of her every need.” The great aunt and cousin said on Sunday Washington Post According to them, they had “no words to express our relief and gratitude.” The little girl will be reunited with her siblings and live with her aunt, uncle and grandparents in Israel, a relative was quoted as saying.
Since Friday, 58 of the approximately 240 hostages held by Hamas have been released. The release of another ten hostages is expected this Monday.