Surviving the Unthinkable: A Hostage's Tale of Tragedy and Resilience in Gaza
A survivor of captivity in Gaza shares the harrowing experience of loss and survival after her family tragedy. Despite facing unimaginable adversity, she recounts the emotional manipulation by her captors who forbid her surviving children from showing any emotion, trying to instill a sense of abandonment.
An Israeli woman held captive by Hamas in Gaza shared her harrowing experience, describing it as a living hell. Unfortunately, her husband and daughter were killed during the ordeal. She recounted to CNN how her captors forbade her surviving children from crying and even tried to make them believe that they had been abandoned.
Chen Almog Goldstein, who was taken hostage along with her children during Hamas' attacks on Israel on October 7, revealed that they were kept in tunnels and an apartment in Gaza until they were finally released after 51 days.
"They made fun of us, and at times, they mocked us," she shared with CNN's Christiane Amanpour. "They made us feel like we were forgotten, and all that mattered to Israel was the fighting.
"We were told not to cry, they expected us to always be cheerful... If we shed tears, we were told to stop or hide our emotions," she explained. "It was a form of emotional mistreatment where they wouldn't allow us to express our sadness."
Almog Goldstein witnessed her husband Nadav and her oldest daughter Yam murdered by Hamas gunmen, who broke into their home near the border with Gaza on October 7.
A Palestinian man walks amid the rubble of houses destroyed by Israeli bombardment in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on March 6, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas movement. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
A Palestinian man is seen walking through the debris of homes that were destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, located in the southern part of the Gaza Strip on March 6, 2024. This destruction is a result of the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas movement. A photo captured by AFP shows the aftermath of the devastation.
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She shared with Amanpour how she took Yam's large teddy bear, which was the size of a human, and placed it on top of them to shield them from the gunfire. In just a few seconds, five individuals entered the safe room, shouting, and as she turned around, Nadav was shot in the chest at close range.
Shortly after, her daughter was also shot in the face. Almog Goldstein, along with her three surviving children, was then taken in a family car and driven across the border. She vividly remembered the two Hamas militants in the car taking selfies as they headed back to Gaza.
Hamas’ attacks on October 7 resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 Israelis, while over 200 individuals were taken as hostages back to Gaza. Israel suspects that 99 people are still being held in Gaza, including the bodies of 31 deceased hostages.
In late November, Almog Goldstein and her children who survived were released as part of a prisoner exchange between Israel and Palestine during a four-day ceasefire in the conflict.
While they were held captive, she mentioned that her family managed to get by on minimal amounts of water and food daily. She recalled, "They did their best to give us food. At first, there was more, but it dwindled later on."
Expressing their fears, she shared that they lived in constant dread of being either harmed by their captors or becoming casualties in the intense bombing of Gaza carried out by Israeli forces.
She talked about the family's captors closely watching them. They would question Agam when she stared or seemed lost in thought, invading their personal space.
It was hard for us because they stripped us of our identity.
"They mentioned Gilad Shalit, the soldier captured by Hamas for five years, and chuckled," she recalled. "They made us feel like we had been abandoned, and that all Israel cared about was battling."
Almog Goldstein shared that she and her children talked about religion with the captors and aimed to maintain a friendly rapport. "At times, we witnessed them in tears, expressing concern for their spouses and penning letters to them."
She asked Amanpour to help free the remaining hostages, questioning whether society and the world are doing enough for them. She shared that the situation is extremely difficult there.
Over 30,000 individuals have lost their lives in Gaza during the conflict between Israel and Hamas that started five months ago. Despite recent attempts to negotiate a ceasefire for the release of the remaining hostages, progress has been slow.
On Thursday, two American officials expressed doubt about the likelihood of Israel and Hamas reaching a temporary truce before the start of Ramadan next week. One US official mentioned that hope for an agreement is diminishing.
Editor's P/S:
Chen Almog Goldstein's harrowing account of her captivity in Gaza exposes the depths of human suffering and the horrors of war. Her family's ordeal, marked by the murder of her husband and daughter, is a testament to the devastating consequences of conflict. Goldstein's captors
