The Israeli women were carrying out military service on the border with the Gaza Strip when they were kidnapped, on October 7, 2023; release is part of the truce agreement between Israel and the terrorist group
Four young Israelis who were carrying out military service on the border with the Gaza Strip when they were kidnapped on October 7, 2023, are expected to be released this Saturday (25), as part of the truce agreement between the terrorist group and . Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy were taken together from the Nahal Oz base, near the kibbutz of the same name. The action was recorded by the attackers.
Three other soldiers were kidnapped with them: Agam Berger, who remains in ; Noa Marciano, whose body was repatriated; and Ori Megidish, released by the Army in October 2023.
Find out more about them below
Liri Albag, 19
Liri was 18 years old when she was kidnapped. As reported by The Jerusalem Post, she managed to pass messages to family members through freed hostages, in which she asked her sister Shai not to cancel the traditional trip after military service, an Israeli tradition, and not to touch her favorite shoes.
According to testimonies from former hostages, Liri was forced to cook, clean and take care of her kidnappers’ children. She appeared this month in a more than 3-minute video released by Hamas. Liri’s parents are very active in mobilizing to demand the release of the hostages.
Karina Ariev, 20
Shortly before her kidnapping, Karina Ariev, then 19, was on the phone with her parents as rockets rained down and militants attacked the base. Contact ended at 7:40 am. “She asked us to move on with our lives” if she died, her sister Sasha told Time magazine. According to the Hostage Families Forum, Karina dreams of becoming a psychologist.
The video of the kidnapping shows that the young woman was injured in the action. In January 2024, she appeared in a video published by Hamas on the social network Telegram, alongside Daniella Gilboa.
Daniella Gilboa, 20
On the morning of October 7, 2023, Daniella, then 19 years old, was in contact with people close to her and sending videos to her boyfriend. Thanks to the clothes she was wearing at the time, she was later identified in Hamas videos.
Born in Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, the young woman is “a passionate musician, who studies piano and singing” and was heading towards a musical career, according to the Family Forum.
Naama Levy, 20
In the video of her kidnapping, Naama Levy, then 19, is escorted to a vehicle wearing pants that appear to be stained with blood. Granddaughter of concentration camp survivors, the soldier appears in other images with a swollen face.
According to a website created by relatives of Naama – the second of four children and a triathlon practitioner –, she grew up in India, where she studied at an American school. As a child, he participated in the Hands of Peace program, which promotes dialogue between young Israelis and Palestinians.
*With information from AFP
Posted by Carolina Ferreira
