Freed from Gaza, Mom Kidnapped with Daughters Cannot Sleep

Stand for Israel  |  December 16, 2023

New accounts from former hostages are absolutely heartbreaking as they explain the fear, injuries, lack of food, and how families were frequently separated in captivity, reports The Times of Israel:

Yoni Asher’s wife and daughters were returned after 49 days in captivity as part of a wave of releases on November 25, during a pause in hostilities between Israel and Hamas to enable a hostage deal.

Asher’s wife, Doron, and their two young daughters Raz, 5, and Aviv, 2, were taken on October 7 from the sealed room of Doron’s mother’s house in Kibbutz Nir Oz, near Gaza. Doron’s mother, Efrat Katz, was killed in the assault…

He added that the three were constantly afraid they would be separated and were regularly moved by their captors from location to location, out of fear that if neighbors discovered the Israelis, their lives would be in danger.

As time passed, their captors provided fewer provisions, Asher said. He described how when his daughters finally came home, they were amazed at how much food was in their kitchen and pantry.

His wife still sleeps “with one eye open” out of fear of being separated from the daughters, and has described to him how she hid her tears from the girls during captivity.