U.S. Continues Airstrikes in Yemen Amid Houthis’ Ongoing Threats to Escalate Attacks

U.S. Continues Airstrikes in Yemen Amid Houthis’ Ongoing Threats to Escalate Attacks


Hila Rotem Shoshani had invited her friend Emily Hand over for a ⁣sleepover in ‍Kibbutz Be’eri, Israel. The⁣ girls, ‍then 12⁤ and 8, woke early the next morning, Oct. 7, ⁣to the sound of thundering ​booms — the start ‌of the deadliest attack in the history of their country.

For about six hours, Hila and⁣ Emily ​hid in the home’s⁤ safe room with⁤ Hila’s mother,⁣ Raaya Rotem, 54, as Hamas attackers‌ overran the ⁤kibbutz.‌ Then armed ‌gunmen burst in​ with guns​ and⁢ knives and took the three out into a landscape of horror, past⁤ dead bodies and burning ⁤buildings, to a car. One of the attackers noticed Hila clutching a stuffed‍ animal. He grabbed it and tossed it aside.

“I had​ it in ‌my ‌hand the entire time.‍ I didn’t notice,” Hila said on⁢ Friday in ‍an interview in New York, before​ she spoke⁢ at a rally in ‌support of the remaining​ hostages. “When you’re⁢ afraid you don’t notice.”

Hila was one ​of more than 30 children kidnapped by Hamas​ on Oct. 7, and​ held⁢ until late November, when they, ‍along⁤ with dozens of adults, were⁤ released during a brief truce. Hila, now 13, is ​the youngest of the returned hostages to speak out about the harsh conditions in which ⁣they were ​held, seeking to highlight the ⁣plight of ‌more than‍ 100 hostages who remain in Gaza.

The terrifying drive to Gaza, surrounded​ by Hamas terrorists, was the first time,​ Hila⁢ said, that she fully realized ⁢how “really close” the territory was‍ to the community‍ she had grown up in.

She⁣ said she, her mother and Emily were taken to a home in Gaza, where they were⁤ put in a dark room with a couple of other hostages. At first, an armed guard ‍stayed⁢ in the room, but eventually moved to⁤ the ‌living⁤ room.

“They⁤ understood we’re not ⁣going to run ‌away,”‍ Hila‌ said. “Outside it’s dangerous too ⁢— why would we run?”

They were warned⁤ not to try to escape, Hila said, ‌told that “if we go⁤ outside ‘the people out ‍there don’t like you, so you’ll be killed anyway.’”

Their captors gave them little‍ food — ⁤half a pita and a bit of ‍halva on some ​days, canned beans⁣ on others — and very little water, often well water ‌so distasteful, Hila‌ said, that she had to force ⁤herself to drink.

At times, the​ captors ate while the captives did not, she said: “There⁣ were days when there just ⁢wasn’t food,⁣ and they would keep it for ⁣themselves.”

Occasionally, Hila said, they heard other children’s voices, and‌ wondered if they were ‌elsewhere in the‍ home. They⁣ had to request permission to use the⁤ bathroom, ‍and Hila learned⁤ the Arabic word for it, ⁣hammam.

Once, ​an‌ explosion nearby ⁤caused the window of their room to break, Hila said, but they escaped injury.

A ⁣few times, she recounted, they were woken in the middle of the night ⁢and hastily ⁤moved in the darkness.

“They ⁤told us at first, ‘you’re moving to a safer place,’⁣ ” Hila⁣ said. “But we didn’t know if ⁣we would be killed.”

The ⁢girls were ‍told to keep⁢ quiet.​ Emily turned 9, and Hila’s own birthday was nearing. They tried to keep themselves…

2024-01-16 ‍12:52:57
Article from www.nytimes.com
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