A Yazidi woman who was kidnapped by ISIS as a child before being trafficked to Hamas in Gaza is understood to have been rescued and reunited with her family after a decade in captivity.
Fawzia Amin Sido was just 11 years old when she was forced to marry a Palestinian ISIS fighter and lured to Gaza, where she was reportedly tortured by her husband’s family.
After years of brutal treatment and isolation from her family, the Iraqi woman, now 21, escaped Gaza and returned home this week to an emotional welcome from loved ones, according to reports.
Sharing the news of his release, the Israel Defense Forces said his captor was “presumably killed during IDF attacks.”
This allowed Fawzia to flee to a hideout, they said, where she was rescued in a secret mission by Israeli special agents and international partners.
Fawzia Amin Sido appears in an image shared by Iraqi authorities after her return home.
A video has been shared that appears to show Fawzia reuniting with her family after her escape.
The young woman is seen hugging her loved ones after spending a decade in captivity.
Canadian Jewish philanthropist Steve Maman shared a touching video that he said showed Fawzia reuniting with her family.
“The young woman was extracted from the Gaza Strip in recent days in a secret operation through the Kerem Shalom crossing,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
“After crossing into Israel, she was taken to Jordan through the Allenby crossing and then to her family in Iraq.”
Canadian Jewish philanthropist Steve Maman, dubbed by some as the ‘Jewish Schindler’ due to his efforts to rescue Yazidis from ISIS captivity, shared a moving video that he said showed Fawzia reuniting with her family.
Sharing the news on Wednesday night, he said he had been involved in her rescue and described it as “the most difficult” he had ever been involved in.
“I promised Fawzia, the Yazidi who was a Hamas hostage in Gaza, that I would take her back home to her mother in Sinjar,” Maman wrote in X.
‘To her it seemed surreal and impossible, but not to me, my only enemy was time. Our team reunited her moments ago with her mother and family in Sinjar.
Fawzia’s rescue is said to have been achieved after several failed attempts, as well as years of diplomatic discussions and planning.
Maman said in a conversation with The Jewish Post: ‘I must thank the US government, my contacts in the US, Iraq, Jordan and Israel.
Steve Maman shared a photo of himself talking to Fawzia after telling her he was involved in her rescue.
“I also want to thank Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Biden and the US administration, the UN, who helped by sending a safe ambulance, and everyone who participated in this operation.”
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry announced Fawzia’s release in a statement, stating that the operation had been carried out “in high coordination” with the US embassies in Baghdad and Amman, as well as Jordanian authorities.
The statement said his rescue had required four months of work and made no mention of Israeli involvement.
Maman said that while Fawzia’s release “is a happy occasion,” work continues to secure the release of many, including more than 100 Israeli hostages, still held in the Gaza Strip.
