‘You don’t know whether they’ll keep you alive or kill you’: Israeli mother held hostage with her three-year-old twins describes daily ‘Russian roulette’ of her 52-day Gaza ordeal as she begs for the release of her husband
Israeli Sharon Aloni-Kunio spent 52 days as a hostage in the Gaza Strip with her two little girls before being released as part of a swap deal between Israel and Hamas. But she fears for the life of her husband, who is still held captive in the shelled Palestinian enclave.
Now back home with her twins, three-year-olds Julie and Emma, she is pleading for the release of the remaining 137 hostages.
“Every minute is critical. Conditions there are not very good and the days go on forever,” Aloni-Kunio, 34, said in her first interview since her release from Hamas captivity.
“It’s Russian roulette. You don’t know if they’ll let you live or kill you tomorrow morning, just because they want to, or just because their back is against the wall,” she said.
Aloni-Kunio was one of 240 people taken hostage on October 7 by Hamas militants who broke through the border into Israel and killed about 1,200 people.
Sharon Aloni-Kunio (pictured) lived 52 days as a hostage in the Gaza Strip with her two little girls before being released in a swap deal between Israel and Hamas.
The family fell apart after David’s father was held hostage and the other three were released.
David (pictured) was separated from them three days before their release on November 27, before fighting resumed.
Gunmen who seized her kibbutz Nir Oz, just over a mile from Gaza, set her house on fire and took her away at gunpoint after she climbed out of a window.
She said she was taken across the border with her husband David and one of their twins.
Their second daughter was held separately in Gaza for 10 days before they were reunited in captivity with 12 other hostages in conditions she said were harsh, especially for the children.
“My kids are torn,” Aloni-Kunio said. “I am torn without my soulmate, the love of my life, the father of my daughters, who asks me every day where is daddy?”
David was separated from them three days before their release on November 27, before fighting resumed. She said releasing the remaining hostages should be a top priority.
“I’m terrified I’m going to get bad news that he’s no longer alive,” Aloni-Kunio said.
Israeli hostages released November 26, 2023: Top: Hagar Brodutch and children Ofri, Yuval and Oriya, Roni Krivoy; center: Chen Almog Goldstein and her children Agam, Gal and Tal Almog; bottom: Avigail Idan, Elma Abraham, Aviva Siegel and siblings Ela and Daphne Elyakim.
About 13 Israeli hostages were freed from Hamas captivity: Margalit Moses, Adina Moshe, Daniel Aloni and her daughter Emilia, Doron Asher and her daughters Raz and Aviv, Hannah Katzir, Keren Munder and her son Ohad, Ruti Munder, Yaffa Adar and Hannah Perry.
Pictured above from left to right: Bilal and Aisha Ziyadne, 18 and 17 years old, Ilana Gritsevski, 30 years old, Nili Margalit, 40 years old, Shani Goren, 29 years old, Amit Susana, 40 years old, Sapir Cohen, 29 years old, and Mia Shem, 21 years old.
“We are not just names on a poster. We are people, flesh and blood. My girls’ father, my partner and many other fathers, children, mothers, brothers are there.”
“Everyone refused food (to the girls). You don’t know if there will be (food) in the evening, so in the morning you leave some for the evening. Everything is very calculated: leave a quarter of a pita, half a pita for the next morning.”
Sometimes they were fed dates and cheese, and sometimes they divided the meat, rice and rations among six of the 12 people.
She said waiting for permission to go to the toilet was a problem for the girls, so they had to use the sink and trash can.
“Sometimes when the power went out, they would let us open the door, draw the curtain, and then we would whisper. How can you keep a child together for 12 hours with just a whisper?”
The US provided unwavering diplomatic and military support for the Israeli campaign, even as it called on Israel to minimize civilian casualties and further mass displacement.
Although Israel has not been at the center of the military campaign against Hamas, since October 7, 267 West Bank Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces.
Residents said there was heavy fighting in and around the southern town of Khan Younis, where Israeli ground forces opened a new line of attack last week.
She said her group of hostages was kept above ground and moved several times, but with the memories still raw and her husband still inside, Aloni-Kunio was reluctant to reveal more details about her capture and time spent as a hostage .
But one of the biggest difficulties, she said, was that they simply didn’t know what was being done to get them out.
“Every day we see crying, disappointment and anxiety. How long will we be here? Have they forgotten about us? Have they given up on us?
As a result of the seven-day truce, more than 100 hostages were released. The rest are still being held incommunicado while Israel bombs the Gaza Strip, vowing to destroy Hamas.
More than 18,000 people have died in Gaza so far, according to local health authorities.
Many of the families of the 137 hostages still held in Gaza, whose names and photographs are plastered across Israel’s streets, are fearful.
The focus of the conflict has shifted to the besieged south after fierce fighting and bombing that reduced much of the north to rubble and forced nearly two million people to flee their homes.
The focus of the conflict shifted to the south of the besieged territory after fierce fighting and bombing that left much of the north in ruins.
Israel has vowed to continue fighting until it removes Hamas from power, eliminates its military capabilities and returns all the dozens of hostages still held by Palestinian militants.
But the relentless bombing, which the Hamas-run health ministry says has killed 18,000 Palestinians in Gaza, is “narrowing the window” for agreeing a new ceasefire, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said.
Israel has vowed to continue the fight until it removes Hamas from power, eliminates its military capabilities and returns all the dozens of hostages still held by Palestinian militants after they were captured in the October 7 surprise attack on Israel. provoked a war.
The US provided unwavering diplomatic and military support for the campaign, even as it called on Israel to minimize civilian casualties and further mass displacement.
Residents say there has been heavy fighting in and around the southern town of Khan Younis, where Israeli ground forces opened a new offensive line last week, and fighting is still ongoing in parts of Gaza City and in the built-up Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. , where large areas were reduced to ruins.