Former Israeli hostage reveals harrowing experience of enduring psychological warfare during 50-day Hamas captivity
Doron Katz Asher, a recently freed Israeli hostage, opens up about the psychological warfare she endured during her 50 days of Hamas captivity In an exclusive CNN interview, she shares the challenging conditions she faced and her lingering guilt for being free while others remain captive
Doron Katz Asher's daughters recalled vividly the events of October 7 - waking up to the wail of sirens, seeking refuge in their shelter, hearing the gunshots approach, and watching in horror as their grandfather bravely left the shelter to divert the attention of the Hamas gunmen away from them. They remembered how he was taken, their failed attempt to deceive the attackers, and the terrifying ordeal that followed.
Asher recounted to CNN how another group of terrorists entered and captured them. She, along with her mother and her 5-year-old daughter Raz and 2-year-old daughter Aviv, were forced into the back of a tractor with other hostages from the kibbutz. Gunmen then opened fire, injuring Asher in the back, Aviv in the leg, and tragically killing her mother.
Asher, aged 34, and her daughters were brought to Gaza and held initially in a house, then in a hospital, before being released in November during a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas. In an exclusive interview with CNN, Asher shared her experiences during her nearly 50 days in captivity, including the "psychological warfare" she endured, the harsh conditions of her confinement, and the guilt she felt for being freed while many others, such as 79-year-old Gadi Moses, her daughters' grandfather, remained captive.
Asher and her daughters were initially brought to a Gaza family's apartment. "They sewed up my wounds without any anesthesia, right there on the couch with my girls beside me," Asher recounted.
Nir Oz was one of the kibbutzim worst hit by Hamas' October 7 attack, with more than a quarter of the community killed or taken hostage.
CNN
After witnessing the October 7 terror attack which she likened to a "war movie," Asher comforted her daughters, assuring them that the danger had passed. "I told them that there are no more terrorists and that we are now surrounded by good people who are protecting us until we can go back home," she recounted.
Throughout the day, they were constantly supervised by the children and grandchildren of the homeowner. Although Asher never learned their names, she was able to converse with the father, who she noted spoke Hebrew due to his previous work in Israel.
Asher and her daughters were unharmed physically, but she described the experience as "psychological warfare."
"They didn't provide much information, mostly trying to convince us that Hamas wants to free us, but no one in Israel cares about us," Asher explained. "They said we wouldn't be able to return to our kibbutz because it's not our home - it's not where we belong."
Israeli soldiers are seen organizing tank shells upon their return from the Gaza Strip on January 1, 2024, in Southern Border, Israel. Israel's ground offensive has been expanded into densely populated neighborhoods in central Gaza, resulting in a new wave of displacement to the south. At the same time, the aerial campaign in Gaza continues as Israel aims to dismantle Hamas following the militant group's Oct. 7 attack, which resulted in 1,200 fatalities and several Israelis being held hostage. The ongoing conflict has claimed more than 21,000 lives in Gaza, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)
Amir Levy/Getty Images
Israel to withdraw some troops from Gaza but expects fighting will continue through 2024
She stated that she didn't trust them and explained that the sound of fighting outside the Gaza building was an indication that efforts were being made to bring them back home and pressure Hamas to release them. After 16 days, Asher and her daughters were transported from the apartment to what she referred to as a "supposed" hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. Why "supposed"?
"A hospital is meant to care for people, but instead it was taken over by Hamas and used to hide hostages," Asher stated.
The Israeli military has accused Hamas of concealing terrorist infrastructure in and around civilian institutions in Gaza, including hospitals - an allegation denied by the militant group. The US has stated that Hamas utilized the Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza, as a command center and a site for holding hostages. Asher did not disclose her location of captivity.
Asher found herself in the hospital complex with other hostages, the first captives she had encountered since being taken into Gaza. When her daughters fell ill while in captivity, she was given some medication, but it was insufficient.
When Aviv developed a fever, Asher placed her in the sink filled with cold water to help lower her temperature. "She was crying out. They wanted us to keep quiet, but she had a fever and I had to do something to help her," he explained. They stayed at the hospital for almost five weeks.
Protesters, including Israelis and relatives of the hostages, gathered outside the Kiriya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel on December 16, 2023. They demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu take stronger action to secure the release of the hostages still being held in Gaza.
Asher revealed that her darkest moment was the day they were released. She recounted being "smuggled" out of the hospital in a Hamas vehicle without knowing where she was being taken. The drive through the streets of Gaza was very frightening, as no one had informed them that they were being released.
She described the streets as being filled with thousands of people, including children and the elderly, attempting to hit the car and bang on its windows. Asher expressed her fear of being lynched.
"After a month and a half of me protecting her, this is the first time Raz said to me, 'Mommy, I'm scared,'" Asher recounted.
During a temporary truce with Israel, which started on November 24 and ended on December 1, Hamas released a total of 105 individuals. Videos capturing the moments when the hostages were handed over to Red Cross personnel often depicted Hamas members displaying compassion towards the hostages. This included gestures such as assisting elderly women and guiding them out of vehicles.
Palestinians queue for food donations at a refugee camp in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on December 23, 2023, amidst ongoing conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (Photo: Saher Alghorra/AFP/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images)
"What kind of life is this? The conditions in southern Gaza are becoming increasingly dire," Asher said. "Before I was released, my girls and I were barefoot for 50 days. We were cold because they were wearing short sleeves in November." But before they were handed over to Red Cross staff, they were given shoes and Hamas members "put me in a nice dress," Asher said.
Upon returning to Israel, Asher and her daughters were hospitalized in Tel Aviv before being sent home. The first thing her daughters yearned to do was "to go outside to feel the wind on their skin," described Asher. "We didnt see daylight that entire time...for them, just the ability to run outside in our yard was the first thing they did." Amid attempts to restore normalcy, Asher stated that the trauma often resurfaces, recalling an incident involving a tractor that raised fearful questions from her daughters. She expressed difficulty in mourning her mother as her focus remained on her children during their captivity. She confessed, "I was acting on autopilot...Im still on autopilot." Her sense of relief has been overshadowed by the lingering knowledge of others still held in Gaza, including Gadi Moses, her mother's partner, who is without his medication and nearing 80 years old.
In December, the Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a group operating in Gaza, released a video featuring Gadi Moses and another hostage, Gadi Katzir, 47, appealing to the Israeli government for their release. Speaking in front of the camera, Asher mentioned that Gadi appeared "very skinny" in the video. "I can't understand what has happened to my family, and I can't comprehend their inhumanity. People who murder others in their beds. Who does that? That's not human."
Bianna Golodryga conducted the interview in Tel Aviv and Christian Edwards wrote from London.
