Four-year-old survived Hamas terror with her father's body

2023-11-27 06:58:04

On October 7th, the then three-year-old was at home on the border with the Gaza Strip with her two siblings, aged ten and six, when the Hamas terrorists invaded and shot the mother in front of the three children. When her father lay protectively over his daughter, he was also shot, US media reported. Her siblings survived because they hid in a box, where they waited for 14 hours before being rescued, it was said.

Abducted together with a neighboring family

Her little sister, who was initially thought to be dead, crawled out from under her father’s body and ran to a neighbor’s house, the Washington Post quoted a relative of the girl as saying. The terrorists grabbed the girl there along with the five-member neighboring family and deported them and many other civilians to the Gaza Strip. Last Friday the little one turned four years old in captivity.

“What she had to endure is unimaginable”

“What she had to endure is unimaginable,” said US President Joe Biden after the girl became the first US citizen to be freed among the hostages in the agreement between Israel and Hamas on Sunday. “She experienced terrible trauma,” Biden said. “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.”

Girl will continue to live in Israel

The great-aunt and cousin said in a statement on Sunday that they had “no words to express our relief and gratitude,” according to the newspaper. The little girl will live with her siblings and 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.