A 13-year-old girl is so traumatized that when she remembers being held hostage by Hamas terrorists, it’s like she’s talking about someone else.
Another girl, bloodied and orphaned when her parents were gunned down in front of her in their Israeli kibbutz on October 7, turned 4 while kidnapped and expressed pure joy at seeing her relatives when they were freed on Monday.
For these young victims of Hamas’s rampant kidnapping plot, which took them from their families for nearly two months, it will likely take years to come to terms with the trauma they have experienced, experts say.
Others will likely carry the weight of what they heard and saw for the rest of their lives, they say.
“It will never be a complete recovery,” said Dr. Ginio Daphna Dollberg, a clinical and developmental psychologist at Tel Aviv-Yaffo Academic College.
Agam Goldstein-Almog, 17, was released from the Gaza Strip. via REUTERS Tal Goldstein-Almog, 9, reunited with his family. Via REUTERS
“It would never be that, [that] Whatever happened to them will not affect them nor will it be forgotten,” he said.
Of the 69 hostages released to date after the ceasefire that began on Friday, 31 were children.
One of the freed girls, 13-year-old Hila Rotem Shoshani, already seemed to be trying to cope with her horrific experience by disassociating from it, talking about the last 50 days she spent in captivity in a way that distances herself from the nightmarish torments she endured. . said her uncle Yair Rotem.
Hila Rotem Shoshani, 13, was taken hostage in October. AP Hila reunites with a family member after being released as part of a hostage and prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel amid a temporary truce. Via REUTERS
“She talks about events that happened,” Rotem told “Today” correspondent Richard England on Monday. England replied “Like she happened to anyone else?”
Rotem said: “Yes, it’s like a story.
“She doesn’t calm down when she talks about it.”
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Another former captive is 9-year-old Ohad Munder, one of at least two child hostages who spent their birthdays in Hamas custody.
He overheard his family wishing him a happy birthday on an Israeli television broadcast while he was detained.
Other hostages wished him a happy birthday when they heard the broadcast.
Ohad was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 along with his mother Keren, 55, and grandmother Ruti, 78. All three family members were released on Friday.
In images made public by Schneider Children’s Medical Center, where many of the hostage children were taken to begin their recovery, the bespectacled young man runs down a hallway into the arms of his father, who lifts him off the ground to give him a touching hug.
Ohad Munder, 9, reacts as he reunites with his relatives after his return to Israel. via REUTERS Munder was one of at least two child hostages who spent their birthdays in Hamas custody. Schneider Children’s Medical Center
“Every day, every hour, every minute spent in captivity leaves its lifelong mark on the souls and bodies of children and deepens its damage until it becomes continuous and irreparable damage,” wrote more than a thousand experts in the field of well-being. children in an open conference. letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the end of last month.
Lillie Macias, an associate professor of psychology at the University of New Haven, told The Post that children are emerging from a situation where they had few, if any, choices about what they did on a day-to-day basis.
“So I think in the immediate aftermath of a trauma like this, a lot of emphasis should be placed on trying to regain that autonomy and even small choices in children’s lives,” she said.
While Macías said he cannot speak for all of the children held hostage, research suggests it is possible to recover from such a traumatic experience.
“I think we’re going to see a whole strategy of some kids who may really struggle,” Macias said. “I think a lot will depend on the stability they have upon returning home and whether they will have stable and consistent caregivers available.
“Some of them may have lost family members and have ongoing trauma and pain, but I think there is hope for the future.”
Mental health professional Orna Dotan told the Jewish Chronicle last week: “We are writing the textbook on how to deal with this amount of trauma, a level that has never happened or seen here before.”
Some of the hostages were held in safe houses or other locations where they had occasional access to media reports via televisions or radios, allowing them to stay somewhat abreast of the latest developments in the war.
But for those lucky enough to spend their time in captivity on the surface, the bombardment around them was an ever-present threat.
Abigail Edan, 4, was freed after being taken hostage during the October 7 attack on Israel. Via REUTERS
Another group of hostages said they were held in underground tunnels with little or no natural light and a desperate shortage of food.
Captives in the tunnels reported routinely hearing the sounds of shelling overhead.
They said they subsisted mainly on rice during the last two weeks in Hamas custody.
Abigail Edan, 4, was among Hamas’ youngest kidnapping victims.
Old photographs showing her bright eyes and radiant smile made her something of a global symbol during her time in captivity – the innocent face proving there was no depth to how far Hamas could fall.
Abigail, who was three years old when terrorists murdered her parents in front of her and her siblings before kidnapping her from the Kfar Aza kibbutz on October 7, also had her birthday while in captivity.
According to her great-aunt Liz Hirsch Naftali, Abigail was in her father’s arms when Hamas shot him dead. Her father collapsed on top of her as he died.
Naftali told NBC that little Abigail crawled out from under her father’s body and headed to a neighbor’s house, soaked in her father’s blood. Eventually, the boy was taken hostage along with other people in the house.
Abigail was released Sunday night and was welcomed with open arms by her aunt Liron and grandmother Shlomit at Hatzerim Air Force Base in Israel.
Accompanied by her grandfather Eitan and her uncle Zuli, the family shared a joyful reunion at Schneider Children’s Medical Center.
Additional reporting by David Propper
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Source: vtt.edu.vn