“When he cried, they threatened him”, the testimony of the mother of Ethan, child captive for 52 days

A year ago, Hamas hit Israel with the most violent pogrom in its history since the Holocaust. With their foreheads girded by their green headbands dressed entirely in black, the killers from Gaza sowed death in a music festival and in the kibbutzim located all along the Palestinian enclave. A year later, these traumatized communities are gradually rebuilding.

76 kibbutz residents taken hostage

Batsheva is the mother of little Ethan who was hostage in Gaza for 52 days. She was at home this morning of October 7, 2023 with her husband and their three children. She recounts this nightmarish day. Aged around forty, these last twelve months have been very trying for her, even if throughout her story, she is almost impassive.

It is then 6:30 in the morning. The alarm sirens sound, followed by the first bursts of terrorists’ automatic rifles. The whole family obviously rushes into the shelter. But there, it’s impossible to close the door. So her husband Hoad stays outside, gun in hand. “They throw grenades inside and then shoot at Hoad and I hear him screaming. And then four of them come into the shelter and say ‘Gaza is coming’. I understand immediately what they want and I tell my children to scream for help and a terrorist points his gun at me and leaves us no choice.”

The terrorists then take Ethan, 12 years old, on a first motorcycle. Batsheva is on a second motorcycle with her baby and her daughter. In Kibbutz Nir Oz that day, a total of 76 people were forcibly shipped to Gaza. Batsheva begs the terrorists to leave her baby, but they don’t listen.

52 days of captivity

“It’s so surreal. I don’t understand what’s happening, and Gaza keeps getting closer. We’re almost at the border and all I can think about is how to escape.” At this point in her story, she pauses briefly, as if searching for the right words. She remembers an Israeli army tank zooming past them. She then finds herself separated from her son, Ethan.

“This is the last time I see Ethan. The terrorists start to panic, and I take advantage of these few seconds to run. After 20 minutes, I am exhausted. I can no longer carry my baby .I tell my daughter to lie on the floor and pretend to be dead.” Her children hide, run to escape the terrorists before hiding again. They were finally rescued 4 hours later by Israeli soldiers.

Ethan will remain in captivity in Gaza in the hands of Hamas for 52 days before being released after an agreement with Israel. On his return, the boy confided in his mother and explained that he spent the first sixteen days of his captivity alone, with Hamas terrorists as his only company. “Even today, I can’t sleep at night when I think about what my son experienced there. He told us that the Hamas soldiers mistreated him. They forced him to watch the videos of the “When he cried, they threatened him, beat him and told him that Israel no longer existed.”

Then, Ethan joins a group of hostages. It is mainly Nir Oz residents that he knows. He is released on November 27, 2023.