\n<\/p>\n
Hila Rotem Shoshani had invited her friend Emily Hand over for a sleepover in Kibbutz Be\u2019eri, Israel. The girls, then 12 and 8, woke early the next morning, Oct. 7, to the sound of thundering booms \u2014 the start of the deadliest attack in the history of their country.<\/p>\n
For about six hours, Hila and Emily hid in the home\u2019s safe room with Hila\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had it in my hand the entire time. I didn\u2019t notice,\u201d Hila said on Friday in an interview in New York, before she spoke at a rally in support of the remaining hostages. \u201cWhen you\u2019re afraid you don\u2019t notice.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The terrifying drive to Gaza, surrounded by Hamas terrorists, was the first time, Hila said, that she fully realized how \u201creally close\u201d the territory was to the community she had grown up in.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey understood we\u2019re not going to run away,\u201d Hila said. \u201cOutside it\u2019s dangerous too \u2014 why would we run?\u201d<\/p>\n
They were warned not to try to escape, Hila said, told that \u201cif we go outside \u2018the people out there don\u2019t like you, so you\u2019ll be killed anyway.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Their captors gave them little food <\/span>\u2014 half a pita and a bit of halva on some days, canned beans on others \u2014 and very little water, often well water so distasteful, Hila said, that she had to force herself to drink.<\/p>\n At times, the captors ate while the captives did not, she said: \u201cThere were days when there just wasn\u2019t food, and they would keep it for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n Occasionally, Hila said, they heard other children\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Once, an explosion nearby caused the window of their room to break, Hila said, but they escaped injury.<\/p>\n A few times, she recounted, they were woken in the middle of the night and hastily moved in the darkness.<\/p>\n \u201cThey told us at first, \u2018you\u2019re moving to a safer place,\u2019 \u201d Hila said. \u201cBut we didn\u2019t know if we would be killed.\u201d<\/p>\n The girls were told to keep quiet. Emily turned 9, and Hila\u2019s own birthday was nearing. They tried to keep themselves occupied, with drawing or games.<\/p>\n \u201cWe played cards, but how much can you play cards, all day, every hour?\u201d Hila said.<\/p>\n Freedom came suddenly, she said.<\/p>\n About a month and a half into their captivity, the captors suddenly separated the girls from Hila\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n \u201cMom had started to be scared that something wasn\u2019t OK, that they weren\u2019t taking her,\u201d Hila said, adding, \u201cand then they just came and took us, and she stayed.\u201d<\/p>\n The girls were then released and returned to Israel. The separation of mother and child violated the terms of the exchange deal, drawing outrage in Israel. Raaya was ultimately released several days later<\/a>, just after Hila\u2019s 13th birthday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n