After spending 471 days in captivity under Hamas in Gaza, three Israeli women who were freed on the first day of a hostage release-ceasefire agreement have begun to share their harrowing experiences, according to reports from Hebrew media on Monday.

Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas militants in Gaza City on Sunday afternoon, amid what appeared to be a chaotic crowd of young men, many dressed in Hamas uniforms and masked. “We were scared to death at the transfer point, from the combination of the armed terrorists and the Gazan crowd,” one of the women told Channel 12 news, in remarks authorized for publication by the Israeli military censor.

The women revealed that they were only informed on Shabbos about their release the following day. They were among the first to be freed in the early phase of a three-part agreement, which promises the release of 33 hostages over 42 days in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Gonen was abducted from the Supernova rave near Kibbutz Re’im on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists breached the border, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, mostly civilians. Damari and Steinbrecher were taken from their homes in the nearby Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the attack.

The former hostages explained that they were not kept in isolation during their time in captivity, and were moved across different locations in Gaza, including a designated “humanitarian zone” in the southern part of the Strip. They mentioned that much of their time was spent underground, with limited exposure to daylight.

During their captivity, the women said they were occasionally exposed to news broadcasts, including reports on protests calling for the hostages’ release. “We saw your struggle,” they were quoted as saying. “We heard our families fighting for us.” They also pieced together information about the brutal Hamas attack that triggered the conflict and were aware that their families had survived, though many of their friends had been killed. “I didn’t think I would come back. I thought I’d die in Gaza,” one of the hostages said, as quoted by Channel 12.

The women added that while they occasionally received necessary medications, one of them had to undergo a medical procedure without anesthesia during her captivity. Both Damari and Gonen were injured during the attack, with Damari losing two fingers due to gunshot wounds.

Other former hostages released during the November 2023 ceasefire also reported undergoing surgery without anesthesia.

On Monday, the families of the three released hostages held a press conference at the Sheba Medical Center, where the women were flown to on Sunday evening. They expressed their gratitude to the government, the negotiators, US President Donald Trump, and the Israeli people for their support in bringing their loved ones home.

“Doron is smiling, she is here, and we are starting to deal with her recuperation. She is okay. She is strong and brave,” said Yamit Ashkenazi, Steinbrecher’s sister. She added that her sister was surrounded by family, friends, and all of Israel, thanking their community in Kfar Aza for its unwavering support. Ashkenazi herself had survived the Hamas attack along with her two small children, hiding in a sealed room for 21 hours without food or water.

Ashkenazi also shared a message from her sister, urging Israelis to continue rallying for the return of all hostages. “The fact that I returned home doesn’t mean the others don’t have to come home,” Ashkenazi quoted her sister as saying. “Go out into the streets. We have to complete all stages of the deal.”

Tom Damari, Emily’s brother, expressed gratitude to the IDF soldiers and reservists who fought Hamas in Gaza, as well as those who died so that they could reunite with Emily. He also thanked the government, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, government hostage envoy Gal Hirsch, and all those who supported them, concluding with the words, “Am Yisrael Chai.”

Emily’s mother, Mandy Damari, a British citizen, shared that her daughter was in high spirits, praising her as “an amazing, strong, and resilient young woman.” She thanked both former US President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, along with other global leaders, as well as the British government for their continued support. She also expressed gratitude to the thousands who had sent messages of support in the past 24 hours.

Meirav Leshem Gonen, another familiar face in the campaign for the hostages’ release, spoke about her daughter’s friends who had been killed during the October 7 attack at the Nova desert rave. She thanked both Israeli and world leaders for facilitating the ceasefire and honored the fallen soldiers, the bereaved families, and those injured in the violence. “We are the Israeli nation, a special nation that wants peace,” she said. “There are 94 more of our brothers and sisters in Gaza, we are brave and courageous and we will get them back. Let us hold hands and win.”

{Matzav.com Israel}