Maya Regev, Hamas captivity survivor who was released in a prisoner swap deal after 50 days, spoke at a Saturday night rally about the harsh conditions of their captivity.
Regev was kidnapped together with her brother Itay, who was also released in the deal - though not at the same time as she was.
She noted, "393 days that Israel has been at war. 393 days that the hostages have been rotting in tunnels, longing for home and waiting for a solution. Close your eyes for a second - imagine your daughter sitting there fighting for her life, or your wounded and hungry son held in Hamas captivity for over a year!!!"
"What I went through there, and what the hostages are still going through, I can never fully explain. It's a wound that will accompany us in everything we do in life, and we'll never be the same. Yesterday I attended the memorial for the late Guy Iluz. Guy was murdered in captivity while lying in a bed next to me in a Gaza hospital, and his body is still there. As a Jewish people, we must return the dead for proper Jewish burial in Israel. Failure to reach a deal now seals the fate of the hostages."
Maya also recalled Omer Shem Tov, her boyfriend who was kidnapped together with her from the Nova music festival. Shem Tov is still held captive in Gaza. Omer marked his 22nd birthday in Gaza earlier this week.
"Omer is the purest person I have ever met. He is a celiac and asthmatic, and in Gaza there is not much food - it's mostly bread. Omer was forced to eat, despite the pains, or remain hungry. In such a situation, how can you breathe? I cannot stop thinking of him. Every explosion, every bomb there shakes you, and you breathe in all the smoke. What is he going through? How is he surviving?"
During the rally, a group of women took part in a powerful visual display called, "Dress Like Naama." The participants wore clothing identical to what observer Naama Levy was wearing when she was abducted, with their hands bound by zip-ties and stained red.
Orna Neutra, mother of American-Israeli hostage Omer Neutra who marked his 23rd birthday in captivity this week, said: "Omer, an American-Israeli, was born and raised in NY and has now been a hostage in Hamas terrorists' tunnels for 393 days. He turned 23 in captivity just this week. When I told President Biden about Omer's decision to move to Israel and join the IDF, he said to me that sometimes he felt we raise our kids too well. I have revisited his words many times over the course of this year... I refuse to accept them but I do question what happened to our humanity, to the moral compass of the world? In what world does a 23-year-old celebrate his birthday in a terror dungeon? Or for that matter, 101 individuals - children, women, elderly? How are they not back home yet? They have NO MORE TIME for endless negotiations and phases! They must all be brought back immediately in an all-encompassing agreement!"
Dr. Ayelet Levy Shachar, mother of Naama Levy, said: "The holiday season passed with endless pain. A time that should have been filled with family and light became moments of constant heartache. Every greeting we exchanged was empty - because Naama wasn't with us. The Israeli public overwhelmingly supports ending the war and releasing the hostages. We call on everyone to take to the streets, stop this abandonment, and save the values upon which this country was founded. Without the hostages, the country will never return to what it was. The military successes and achievements have brought us close to victory - the final step toward victory and security must be through a diplomatic agreement. An agreement from a position of strength and power, with tremendous achievements, that will enable saving lives and restoring security and freedom to Naama's home and the other hostages, ensuring security for the country and its citizens."
Amir Idan, cousin of hostage Tsachi Idan and brother of the late Master Sergeant (Res.) Guy Idan who fell in Lebanon last week, added: "We are committed to continuing Guy's legacy and fighting for the hostages' release wherever needed. We won't rest until we can embrace Tsachi. Guy will never return to us, to his wife and daughters. But Tsachi and our other 100 captive brothers must be returned before there are more widows, orphans, and bereaved parents that could have been prevented."
Noam Katz, daughter of the late Lior Rudaeff, asked: "How am I supposed to raise children here with healthy minds, when their questions are about how their grandfather was murdered? 'With a rifle? Maybe with a bomb? When around the dinner table, my 7-year-old suddenly asks, 'Do you think they shot grandpa in the head or heart?' And while I'm choking on the question, his 5-year-old brother answers, 'I think they shot him in both the head and heart because they really wanted him to die.' How do I answer them?"