A teenage Israeli girl whose father and sister were killed by Hamas has told of her ordeal of being held hostage with her entire family – and how she was convinced she would be raped, tortured and killed.
Agam Goldstein-Almog, 17, was taken into custody in Gaza City during the October 7 terrorist attack, along with his mother, Chen, 48, and two brothers, Gal, 11, and Tal, 9, before they were released on November 26.
“I still remember our entry into the city. I just told my mother, ‘They’re going to torture me, they’re going to rape me,’” Goldstein-Almog said in an interview Thursday on Israel’s Military Radio, according to the Jerusalem Post.
“I kept saying to myself all the time – ‘What, I’m not going to make it to my 18th birthday? At least give me until 18.'”
In captivity, he dreams of reuniting with his father, Nadav, and his 20-year-old soldier sister, Yam, 20, who stayed to help his father during the killing spree at Kibbutz Kfar Aza as he recovers from surgery. .
“We had hope that we would come back and the Father would be waiting for us, that we would see him in a wheelchair,” Goldstein-Almog said.
Hostage Agam Goldstein-Almog, 17, fears he will be raped, tortured and killed by Hamas. AP
“What we heard on the radio crushed that hope for us,” he said of the news that the two had been killed.
He often just looked at his mother to communicate in a way that their captors didn’t understand.
“There is a feeling that the body feels that cannot be explained. It was an absolute shock, no matter what I said, it wouldn’t be understood,” said Goldstein-Almog.
Agam Goldstein-Almog’s sister and father were killed by terrorists.
“We both looked at each other and understood that there probably wouldn’t be words. There will always be feelings,” he said.
“Words are too small when compared to what the body feels. So that’s how it is. We see and understand, as cliche as it may sound. We just have to look at each other and feel that we are in the same boat, feeling the same thing, and we can’t talk about it because there are no words to describe it,” added the girl.
When asked when he was most afraid, he said at night.
Agam Goldstein-Almog following his release from the Gaza Strip on November 26. via REUTERS Goldstein-Almog, his mother, Chen (right), and his two brothers were released on November 26. REUTERS An Israeli citizen who was kidnapped in Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip. AFP via Getty Images
“With all the difficulty of saying it, I am most afraid [Israeli] air raids every night. At first, there was fear [the terrorists]which is the biggest fear,” said Goldstein-Almog.
“Slowly, there is a greater fear, which is heavy bombing,” he added.
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On how captivity changed her, Goldstein-Almog said, “It changed a lot of things for the worse and took away my sense of security, created a lot of fear, anxiety, confusion and helplessness in me.”
He said his “values in life” had changed.
“They were always different from us, but I changed after something like this,” said the teenager.
He added: “I’m glad there are people who are getting on with their lives — it shows a certain strength. But on the other hand, 71 days in captivity is like one long day.
“It’s really the same day. So we are always moving forward but thinking of those who are still stuck behind and want to say that they are in danger.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
