Hamas captivity survivor Doron Steinbrecher, a resident of the Dor Tze’ir neighborhood in Kfar Aza, recounted the terrifying moments of her abduction on October 7th in an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth.
"When I was here in the apartment, I suddenly remembered the sound of the window when the terrorists opened it," Steinbrecher shared. "I knew the terrorists were getting closer, so I hid under the bed. Then, as I was talking to my mother, I heard them at the door, shouting 'Iftah al-Bab!' (Open the door!). I told my mother, 'They’re here,' and then I heard the 'crack' of the window, and I realized they had entered."
She recalled the moment: "A terrorist entered the bedroom, looked around, and said to his friend, 'There’s no one here.' They left - then came back, realizing someone must be here because someone had leaned the refrigerator against the door. They shot at the bed. The bullet missed my head. Then they lifted the mattress and realized I was underneath. I raised my hands, and four terrorists dragged me outside. They grabbed my hand, put me on a shelf, and we exited through the window."
Steinbrecher described her feelings as she was taken outside: "I realized I was being kidnapped to Gaza and hoped they wouldn’t kill me. I tried to resist, to delay, hoping someone would come, but no one was coming."
Later, she recounted: "On the way to Gaza, I simply switched off in my mind, shut myself down, and said, 'Alright, there’s nothing you can do about this. No matter what, just stay alive, just survive. Let them do what they want, as much as they want. Surviving was the only thing in my mind.'"
Addressing the hope for the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, she added, "In captivity, I had no hope, but in the end, I came back, so I must [have hope now]. There can’t be a reality where they don’t come back. It’s almost two years. This doesn’t make sense."