Hamas captivity survivor Naama Levy spoke on Friday at Hostage Aid's UNGA80 side event in New York. Naama was released on January 25 after enduring 477 days in captivity.
Levy began her speech by referencing the now-infamous video of her abduction on October 7, 2023. “On October 7th, 2023, I was kidnapped - violently dragged from a black Jeep, wounded, terrified, bleeding, and helpless, paraded in front of a hateful, raging mob, with the terrifying sounds of gunfire and cheering all around me.”
Her account painted a vivid picture of the "first of 477 long, excruciating days" that followed. She described periods with "no food or water," and suffering from “severe malnutrition, indescribable hunger, and many untreated injuries.” The conditions were “unbearable,” she said, marked by a constant, crippling fear.
Levy’s captivity involved being moved frequently between different hiding places. She endured stretches of complete isolation and other times shared a space with other young women, some of whom were “wounded severely and left untreated.”
She shared one of her most harrowing memories, which involved being forced to run from house to house under fire. "I could hear the gunshots and the bullets whistling past my ears," she recalled. During this time, she was held in a “makeshift hiding place” with her captors, with almost no food, water, or access to a toilet. She described the constant threat she felt, noting that at night her captors would "gear up—putting on vests filled with grenades and ammunition, holding their guns close."
While life above ground was “horrid,” Levy said it paled in comparison to the experience of being held in the Hamas tunnel network. “There is nothing that can compare to the darkness and dread that the tunnels bring with them,” she said, describing the lack of oxygen and the overwhelming smell of mold. “The same tunnels where far too many innocent people are still being held at this very moment.”
Eight months after her release, Levy said the knowledge that others are still suffering is “unbearable.” She expressed her plea to the international community. “I am here to be their voice,” she stated, urging diplomats to act.
Levy credits her release to "an agreement reached through negotiations," and she emphasized the importance of diplomacy for those still captive. "The hardest times, mentally during my captivity, were the periods when there was no news at all about negotiations,” she said. “When you realize everything is stuck, hope starts to fade away, and all you can do is pray and try to hold on to your sanity.”
She implored the audience, whose lives are "dedicated to diplomacy, free will and finding solutions," to make the hostage crisis their top priority. “Diplomacy and an agreement brought me back. That same diplomacy must bring back all the people who can still be saved,” she stated.
Levy concluded her speech with a powerful call to action. "Please—act. Find a solution immediately. Save these innocent lives for when you do, it is as if you have saved the entire world,” she said. “Bring them all home—now.”
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)