At a support rally for families of hostages on Saturday night, difficult testimonies were heard from those who were released from Hamas captivity.
Clara Merman, 63, of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, was one of the released hostages who shared her harrowing experience at the rally.
"It is inconceivable to remain there without the possibility of seeing day and night, not knowing if you’re going to eat or not, if a bomb might suddenly fall,” Merman stated.
"All of the beauty, good life and family enjoyment has ended – that's where the nightmare begins. My brother Fernando and my partner Luis remain behind.”
Released hostages have loved ones still in captivity
Merman, a mother of two and grandmother of three, was kidnapped during the Nir Yitzhak massacre when Hamas terrorists attacked the kibbutz as part of its deadly rampage against southern Israel on October 7. Her partner and brother were also kidnapped and remain hostages in Gaza.
Merman was released during the ceasefire on November 28, after 53 days as a hostage in Hamas captivity.
“To be in Hamas captivity means losing your sense of time. It is maddening: to wait, and wait, and wait endlessly while the day never ends," she continued. "At the end of the day, we'd say 'another day has passed. How is that possible?'”
“Bring Fernando and Luis home," she pleaded: "Return them to me now."
More than 230 hostages were taken to Gaza during the October 7 attack. Some 114 of them have since been released while at least 129 remain in Hamas captivity in Gaza.