 "One year of Israel-Hamas war: 5 faces who became synonymous with October 7 attacks")
A year ago, on this day — October 7 — Hamas rampaged through southern Israel killing 1,200 people and dragging 251 back to the Gaza Strip. The Hamas attack, unprecedented in Israel’s modern history, has since then triggered a cataclysmic war, changing the future of the entire West Asia region.
For the 251 hostages — some are dead — and their families, time hasn’t moved on since the horrific attack. For those freed, they are stuck, ridden with guilt and engulfed in grief. For those who lost their loved ones, their mourning continues, and for those whose loved ones are still held captive — believed to be around 100 in number — they cling to hope and await their safe return.
As members of the family forum gathering on Sunday in Israel said, “Do not forget us. Do not forget the hostages. “Every day that passes brings another day of unimaginable suffering for the hostages and their families,” the families added.
As the world marks one year of the attacks, we look back and bring you tales of grief, horror and a bit of hope through the stories of these five hostages taken by Hamas.
Saving Abigail
On October 7, 2023, Abigail Mor Edan underwent trauma that no human, let alone a three-year-old should endure. The little girl was at home at the Kfar Aza kibbutz with her parents when Hamas militants stormed the area and went on a rampage, killing people indiscriminately.
She was in her father’s arms when a Hamas gunman shot him and he fell on top of her. A bloodied Abigail then crawled out from under her father’s body and ran over to her neighbour’s house and joined them in their bomb shelter. However, she was later taken hostage by the militant group for a whopping 51 days.
After spending her fourth birthday in captivity, she was released in November during a brief ceasefire, becoming the first American hostage to return home. According to Abigail’s great-aunt Liz Hirsh Naftali, securing the child’s release was a Herculean task. It included meetings with US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and other global figures.
And what was captivity for Abigail? She along with others was held in a small room but was moved within days. She was starved, eating only pita on some days.
Speaking on her release, US President Joe Biden said, “Abigail has been through a terrible trauma. The child’s mother was killed in front of her by Hamas militants before her father was also gunned down while using his body to shield Abigail from the attack. What she endured is unthinkable.”
Today, Abigail lives with her aunt, uncle and cousins, but returning to Kfar Aza will never happen for her.
Noa Argamani lives with the horror
For 25-year-old Noa Argamani , the October 7 attack is etched in her psyche. She was taken hostage from the Nova music festival in Re’im, with video footage of her being shown screaming — ‘Don’t kill me’ — as she is driven away by Hamas militants on the back of a motorcycle.
Later in June, she was rescued from Nuseirat in central Gaza by IDF forces in a daring daylight operation.
Speaking on her ordeal, she said that her biggest concern during captivity was for her parents. She said she felt privileged to be back with her family, especially her mother, who has late-stage cancer. Three weeks after her release, her mother passed away.
“Every night I was falling asleep and thinking, this may be the last night of my life,” Argamani said. Recounting her time in captivity, she said that was unable to shower more than twice a month, and food and water were scarce.
“I lost a lot of weight. We drank something like less than a half litre for a day, and there were days that we [were not allowed] to drink at all,” Argamani said.
In a tearful meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the 25-year-old said that her most difficult experience during her eight months of captivity was hearing him declare that the war was going to be long. “The hardest moment I had in captivity was when I listened to the radio and heard you say the war will be long. I thought, ‘I won’t get out of here.’ It was a breaking point for me,” she recounted.
Argamani continues to urge for the release of the remaining hostages, including her partner, Avinatan Or. “Although I’m at home now, we cannot forget the hostages who are still in Hamas captivity, and we must do everything that’s possible to bring them back home,” Noa has been quoted as saying, adding, “I wish for all of us to have more peaceful days, quieter days, that to be surrounded by family, friends and good people.”
Mia Schem’s 54 days of captivity
For Mia Schem, a French-Israeli, the Nova music festival turned into her worst nightmare after she was taken hostage by Hamas militants. When the Hamas gunmen stormed into the festival, they shot the 21-year-old in the arm and then dragged her away, along with 35 others.
Fifty-four days later, on November 30, she was released into the care of her family.
Her time in captivity has left Mia struggling with epilepsy and lack of sleep. She described her time as a hostage as nothing but a ‘living hell’. She said she was kept in a room and was told she couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, couldn’t cry, couldn’t be seen, she recounted: “There’s a terrorist, who is watching you 24/7, who is raping you with his eyes… an evil stare. I was afraid of being raped. It was my biggest fear there.”
She said she did not shower the entire period in captivity, didn’t receive any medications or painkillers, and would receive food “sometimes.” She also recounted how her Hamas captors would try to break her emotionally, by taunting her of her release — which never came.
Schem, today, lives with guilt. Guilty of being released while others continue to suffer. She has repeatedly apologised for being freed.
Schem was last seen at the annual Elton John Aids Foundation Academy Awards viewing party in March.
Shani Louk whose body was paraded
When Hamas militants infiltrated Israel on October 7 last year, they also rained down their horror on the Nova music festival in Re’im, southern Israel. Among the many taken hostage, there was 22-year-old Israeli-German Shani Louk.
She quickly became the face of the attack when footage of her was shared, showing her lying motionless in the back of a vehicle after being seized and brought into Gaza. Some reports also said that she was paraded naked by Hamas men.
Months later, in May, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed to Shouk ’s parents that commandos had found their daughter’s body in Gaza.
Ricarda Louk, Shani’s mother, was quoted as saying, “She was a beautiful, lively person. She just enjoyed laughing and experiencing life, and so it was just cut too short.”
Meanwhile, Nissim Shouk, Shani’s father, said that he took solace in the fact that she was doing what she loved best before she died, and probably did not suffer. “She was dancing the whole night. She was so happy,” Nissim Louk said. “She never thought that there was evil in the world because she was a free spirit. She saw it only for a couple of seconds.”
Following her demise, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the barbarism of Hamas, saying the Palestinian militant group needed to be held accountable.
Killing of Hersh Goldberg-Polin
Earlier, in September, thousands thronged a Jerusalem cemetery to pay their respects to Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American, who became one of the most recognisable faces of the nearly year-old hostage crisis.
At the funeral, his mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin said: “My sweet boy, finally, finally, finally you are free!”
The 23-year-old native of Berkeley, California was at the Nova music festival when Hamas militants stormed the venue, raining down terror and chaos there. In a video of the attack released, Goldberg-Polin was seen being injured by a grenade blast that blew off his left forearm. It then shows him being loaded into a truck at gunpoint that seemed to be headed for Gaza.
Since taken hostage, Goldberg-Polin’s parents became two of the most high-profile relatives of hostages on the international stage. They met with US President Joe Biden, Pope Francis and others. They even addressed the United Nations and the Democratic National Convention, urging the release of all hostages.
Polin’s body, along with five others, was discovered in the tunnel beneath the southern Gaza city of Rafah back on August 31. According to investigators, evidence showed that Polin and others reportedly tried to fight off their killers in the final moments.
With inputs from agencies
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