'Please, don't leave anyone behind': Former hostages plead for new deal

"I know what they're going through right now - you cannot abandon them for one more day. Leave no one behind," said former hostage Ilana Gritzewsky.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF DECEMBER 18, 2024 00:43 Updated: DECEMBER 18, 2024 00:44

Former hostages speak at Tel Aviv's Hostage Square. (photo credit: Paulina Patimer)

Released Hamas hostages shared their experiences of time in captivity and pleaded for the return of those still held in Gaza in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square on Tuesday.

The former hostages, all of whom were freed during previous exchange deals with Hamas, and whose loved ones remain in Gaza, stressed the urgency of securing the release of the remaining 100 hostages. 

Sharon Aloni Cunio was kidnapped with her two young daughters along with her husband David, who remains in captivity. In her testimony, she spoke of the difficulty of being separated from her husband.

"The hardest moment of my life came on the first day of the hostages deal: we were separated from David," she said. "We hugged him, and our daughters held onto him with their small hands, not understanding what this goodbye meant. He remained there, alone in the dark tunnels.

"Decision-makers must understand the scars and illnesses we returned with after just 52 days: pneumonia, infections, weight loss, unending fears and nightmares. Now imagine 438 days like this – what David is enduring there alone - a year without us?

"I stand here representing David, my daughters, and all the families whose worlds have crumbled," she continued. "I demand the return of all 100 hostages. Now, before winter arrives, the hostages must return immediately for life-saving medical care. Their physical and mental weakness won't allow them to survive the coming winter. Please, don't leave anyone behind. Don't turn me into a widow and our daughters into orphans."

Former hostages speak at Tel Aviv's Hostage Square. (credit: Paulina Patimer)

'55 days of hell'

Ilana Gritzewsky, who was rescued during the first hostage deal, and whose partner, Matan Zangauker, is still a hostage in Gaza, shared her experience. "For 55 days, I lived in hell. Fifty-five days of hunger, helplessness, humiliation, and fear. I was moved between apartments and tunnels, struggling to breathe, without a moment of hope. Every second there was etched into my body and soul. Every minute was a fight for survival.

"I stand here as a woman who returned from captivity. I know how that hell feels. I know what they're going through right now - you cannot abandon them for one more day," she stated. "Make a deal. Now. A comprehensive deal. Leave no one behind. End this war in exchange for a deal!”

She continued with an address to US President-elect Donald Trump: “You are a leader who knows how to win, how to turn the tide when all hope seems lost. Now is the moment to prove it. One hundred hostages—men, women, children – are still being held in the depths of hell. My partner, my friends, and countless innocent lives are wasting away while the world stands silent. This is your chance to change history. Step in. End this war. Bring the hostages home. No words. No promises. Only action."

'Terrorists took everything from me'

Meirav Tal and her partner, Yair (Yaya) Yaakov, were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz. At the Hostage Square she spoke of Yaakov, whose body remains in captivity. "The thought that I'm free and no longer moving between dark hideouts or tunnels takes me right back to that place, where I was kidnapped along with my beloved Yaya Yaakov's children - Or and Yagil. Yaya was murdered, and his body is still held in Gaza.

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"I was there for 53 days during which the terrorists took everything from me: control over my will, what I could or couldn't do, when I could speak, when I could eat, drink, sleep and shower, when I could sit, lie down or stand - only my thoughts remained free – the one thing they couldn't take from me.

"We must not forget them. I was there, believe me. Forgetting them is killing them anew each day. Forgetting them means forgetting who we were, who we are, and who we want to be. Until Yaya and the last hostage are home, we cannot heal without them. We must bring back Yaya and all the hostages in a comprehensive deal that will close this chapter for all of us and allow healing and recovery to begin."

Lack of medical treatment

Released hostage Raz Ben Ami, whose husband, Ohad, is still held captive, spoke of the lack of medical treatment in Gaza as well as the new life-threatening risks that winter will bring to the remaining hostages.

"We know the Red Cross hasn't seen or visited him, and just as I didn't receive medication for my condition, I have no doubt that Ohad isn't getting what he needs," she said. "He's likely only getting what I received - shouts and threats. I begged for the medical help I desperately needed; my health severely deteriorated there and continued to decline after my return because I didn't receive the medications I must take.

"Winter is here, it's cold, and there it's even colder. Even when conditions in Gaza were supposedly tolerable, it took a long time until we received blankets and warm clothing. The cold, combined with more than a year of nightmare in tunnels under bombardment, is unbearable.

"Medical research shows that in this cold, without protective layers, the human body cannot survive. We must remind everyone involved in negotiations that we cannot delay. Every day there is one day too many - 438 days and nights are an endless hell."

'We must bring everyone back'

Lena Troufanov, mother of Russian-Israeli hostage Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, who remains in Gaza, remarked on her faith in Israel. 

"When I was in captivity, I never doubted I would get out. I was certain that the State of Israel would do everything to free us," she said. "For this feeling – that our country stands behind us and will do anything for us regardless of the cost – to remain alive for our children and grandchildren, we must bring everyone back.

What protected us was this sense of solidarity, this feeling of national unity and that every person matters. Please save them all, leave no one behind – we don't abandon our wounded in the field."