An Israeli mother described the horrifying moment Hamas set fire to her family’s home, prompting her to cover her young daughter with a blanket and tell her: “I’m sorry, we’re going to die.”
Danielle Aloni, 44, and her daughter Emilia, six, were at Kibbutz Nir Oz visiting her sister Sharon Aloni Cunio when Hamas launched its surprise attack on October 7 against Israel.
Hamas set fire to her family’s home, trapping Sharon, her 3-year-old daughter, Emma, Danielle and Emilia in a room that quickly filled with smoke.
At the same time, Sharon’s husband was captured along with Emma’s twin sister, Yuli.
When Sharon sent a message to the family telling them they wouldn’t make it out alive, Danielle remembers covering Emilia with a blanket and holding her in her arms.
Danielle Aloni described the horrible moment Hamas set her house on fire. Via REUTERS
“I hugged her tightly and said, ‘I’m sorry, we’re going to die,’” the mother recalled in an interview on Israeli television, according to the Times of Israel.
The sisters concluded that it would be easier, for the children’s sake, to die a quick death and opted to open a window to confront Hamas’ weapons rather than burn them alive.
In a voicemail to her family, Danielle explained the situation, saying: “They are burning our house, terrorists have come in and tried to shoot us. They are burning us at home. If we go out, they will shoot us.”
Danielle Aloni and her sister Sharon expected a quick death, but Hamas took them hostage. Channel 12
“One way or another, we will die. “That’s it, this is the end of us,” Danielle said.
Danielle and Sharon then opened the window of their shelter and “waited for the burst of gunfire.”
Instead, the group of terrorists waiting outside indicated that they should get out and start walking. Eventually, Sharon was separated from the group, leaving Danielle with her daughter and her niece.
Danielle described her captors as “drunk with joy” as they were taken to Gaza.
Danielle and her daughter Emilia were separated from their other relatives by Hamas. Facebook/Bring them home now
Once in Gaza, a terrorist took Emma away from Danielle, who begged them in Arabic not to take her.
“If I die here, then my daughter [Emilia] “I’ll die too,” she recalled thinking to herself, describing the extreme guilt of not being able to protect her niece. “I couldn’t protect the girl [Emma]a girl of 3 years and 3 months.”
While held captive, Danielle convinced Emilia that they were safe from underground bombs and created a game with imaginary gifts to keep her spirits up.
The family was held for weeks in various apartments and underground tunnels. Via REUTERS
When they were freed, Emilia received all the imaginary gifts she chose, Danielle said. “She received more than 49 gifts.”
Every day, Danielle prayed, trying to stay strong and keep Emilia from becoming depressed, although she admitted that she didn’t believe they would “see the light of day.”
“As a mother, you bring together strengths that you didn’t know before,” Danielle said. “You say to yourself: ‘I will do everything, everything so that my daughter can overcome this trauma in the easiest way.’ And then you do everything.”
Danielle and Emilia were released on November 24, while Sharon and her twin daughters were released on November 27. Qassam Military Media
The mother and daughter were finally discharged on November 24 after receiving treatment at a hospital.
Emilia suffers from severe post-traumatic problems and is frightened by noises similar to rockets and air raid sirens. Her mother said she no longer feels safe even in her safe room because she fears “bad people” will come back to take her.
Now she also fears hearing a foreign language, Danielle said.
Emilia is going through serious post-traumatic problems, her mother says. Tum7/X
When asked how she was doing, Danielle responded: “I’m here, but my heart is there. “Our family is not complete.”
Danielle’s sister, Sharon, and her three-year-old twin daughters, Yuli and Emma, were released on November 27, while her sister’s husband, David Cunio, remains captive in Gaza.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn