Three Israeli hostages who were returned home after 471 days in Gaza have shared harrowing testimonies of the horrors they faced in Hamas captivity, an ordeal they feared they would never escape.
Emily, 28, Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were handed over to the Red Cross on Sunday in front of a crowd of Hamas and Palestinian fighters.
“We were scared to death by the combination of gunmen and the Gaza crowd,” the women said.
Shortly afterward they were reunited with their families and on Monday they shared chilling testimonies about their experience with the Israeli radio station N12.
The three girls said they were originally held together in Gaza before being separated and were periodically moved between hideouts.
They spent most of their 15 months in captivity hidden underground in the terrorists’ network of tunnels and rarely saw daylight, according to testimony shared with the media outlet.
When together, the women cooked and took care of each other; Romi, a trained paramedic, is said to have treated Emily’s injuries.
British-Israeli citizen Emily lost two fingers after being shot in the hand, according to the Missing Families and Hostages Forum, and also suffered shrapnel wounds to her leg during the October 7 massacre.
She was then kidnapped and dragged to Gaza, where she and Romi said they were moved dozens of times as Hamas tried to prevent Israeli forces from rescuing them.
Hamas fighters hand over Doron Steinbrecher, a hostage held in Gaza since the October 7, 2023 attack, to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Former British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari is seen after being reunited with her mother

Emily Damari and Romi Gonen, who were kidnapped by Palestinian militants during the October 7, 2023 attacks, disembark from a Hamas vehicle during the handover process on Sunday.
While some of those kidnapped were given the medications they needed, according to testimony, one of the women says she was forced to undergo a medical procedure without anesthesia.
During their tortuous experience, they were also able to follow radio and television broadcasts, meaning they were able to watch their families’ fight for their release on the news and learn more about the atrocities of October 7.
“We saw their struggle, we heard our families fight,” they said, adding: “We realized that our families had survived, but we discovered that we had lost many friends.”
One of the women also shared that she believed she would never return home, despite her family’s efforts. “I didn’t think I would come back, I was sure I would die in Gaza,” she said.
They also said that until the morning of the day of delivery they were not informed that they were going to be released. “We couldn’t believe it when they told us we would be home in a moment,” the women said.
When they arrived to be handed over to the Red Cross on Sunday, the women’s vehicle was surrounded by hundreds of militants and civilians who were shouting and banging on the van’s doors and windows. Some even climbed onto the roof.
When the van door opened, the three former hostages appeared terrified and were quickly led through the crowd to safety.
The liberation of women. It is part of the first phase of the ceasefire and hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas.

When the van’s door opened, the three former hostages appeared terrified, clutching gruesome Hamas “gift bags” and running through the overwhelming crowd to safety.
Damari broke her silence on Monday to say she is the “happiest person in the world” since she was freed from Hamas captivity in Gaza.
‘Love, love, love. Thank God. Thanks to my family, to Orali, to the best friends I have in this world,’ he said in a post on Instagram. “I returned to my beloved life.”
‘I only managed to see a glimpse of everything and you broke my heart with emotion. Thank you, thank you, the happiest person in the world simply for being one.’
At the end of his post, he added a “stone set” emoji, symbolizing the two fingers he lost during the Hamas attack.
Speaking to the Mail, Rotem Koren, a friend of Damari, said: ‘After October 7 it was very difficult to rebuild these feelings, so yesterday was a very emotional moment.
‘I think most of the world saw Emily’s power. Even in the most difficult moments, around all these terrorists she continues to smile: she is so powerful.

Palestinian Hamas members gather around a vehicle as Emily Damari is handed over.

British hostage Emily Damari, among the last hostages freed from Gaza
“Seeing that was a very emotional moment for us. When she got out of the terrorist’s car, or when she whistled at us in the hospital, it was clear that nothing could stop her.
‘You saw how even in her situation she looked at the positive side. Even after losing two fingers, he turned it into something positive: the first thing he does is share this sticker of his hand.
‘Now everyone is strengthened by it. I hope everyone can take advantage of these skills that she has, keep going and look for the positive no matter what.”
Pal Guy Yakobi, 29, added: ‘It was great to see her and hear her voice again. It was a quick meeting, we didn’t have much time to talk. It was just a hug and a kiss and I told her I love her.’
On becoming a symbol of resistance: ‘If anyone can survive and come back smiling, it’s Emily.
“We weren’t surprised to see how he acted.”