Simona Steinbrecher had no information about her youngest daughter, Doron, for more than 100 days after Hamas kidnapped her from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on the morning of October 7. The last message Simona received from Doron was a WhatsApp voice note in which she mentioned that the terrorists had taken her.
“Around 10 am, Doron called me and said she heard terrorists and was afraid. She was crying. Then she sent an audio message saying that they got her. It was terrible. Until now, I go to sleep and wake up with her voice in my head,” Simona said.
After 107 days of captivity, on January 26, Hamas released a video featuring Doron and two other hostages, Daniella Gilboa and Karina Ariev. The video was edited together, and the women asked the Israeli government to bring them back home.
“I was very happy when I saw the video because, until then, we heard nothing about Doron. No one who came back saw her. But with that, I was very afraid and worried because I can see that she is not well. Now I can’t even think about how terrible it is for her to be in Gaza all this time,” Simona added.
According to Simona, Doron has a serious hormonal health issue and needs to have medicine every day.
“I can see from how she looks in the video that they didn’t give her the medicine,” Simona said.
The hostages who have returned from Gaza have shared with Simona alarming reports. The situation is dire, with severe shortages of food, water, and a place to sleep. The remaining female hostages there are facing especially brutal treatment by the terrorists. Simona is gravely concerned about the situation and emphasizes the urgent need for global attention to address it.
“We heard the stories of the people who came back from Gaza, and they say terrible things,” she said, adding: “We are very afraid about what is happening there.”
Simona relayed the story of returned hostage Amit Soussana, who recounted sexual assault while in captivity, a thought that terrifies Doron’s mother.
Amit shared with the world that while in Gaza, she was held alone, chained up in darkness and was forced to commit sexual acts for her Hamas captor.
“What else does the world need to know?” asked Simona. “Why do they say it [sexual assault] is not happening there, when the women who are coming back tell us that it happened? The whole world should cry about it and do everything to stop this!” exclaimed Simona, an incredibly strong and courageous woman whose feelings are beyond description.
“That morning, my daughter was in bed in her pajamas, and they took her. What did she do to them? Why take her? They took babies, little kids, women, elderly—everyone! For what?” she asked.
Despite experiencing unimaginable emotional pain and horror, Simona continues to fiercely fight for the world to recognize the heinous crimes being committed against hostages and unite to combat terrorism once and for all.
“The world needs to know how brutal Hamas is,” Simona insisted. “They are not people; they just want to kill. I don’t understand why the world doesn’t scream about what is happening. The world needs to tell them to stop.”
Simona believes that the problem in the ongoing conflict is not Israel but rather Hamas’ refusal to engage in negotiations and reach an agreement.
“Sinwar doesn’t want a deal,” she said, referring to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. “When we [Israel] are close to the deal, he always has new conditions he wants Israel to do. How can you make a deal with someone who changes his mind all the time? It is impossible,” she claimed.
Simona’s message is clear and urgent: We must unite as a global community with a singular objective—to exert pressure on Hamas to release the hostages and agree to a cease-fire. Only collective efforts can make a difference, according to Simona.
“We need Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United States and all the other countries to tell Hamas: ‘now you have to make this deal,’” Simona pleaded.
“I want the world to see the real picture of what happened here,” she said.
Simona strongly believes that there is a frightening connection between terrorism in Israel and the recent attacks happening around the world. She emphasizes that the world needs to recognize this trend and understand that what Israel is going through now is just the tip of the iceberg of a much larger, global problem.
“We see the attacks that are happening in France, in England, in the United States, in Russia. People need to think and realize that if we don’t stop them [terrorists] now, they will come to your country,” she explained.
Even amid the fear and desperation of not having seen her daughter in six months, Simona’s thoughts extend to the innocent people in Gaza. She believes that defeating Hamas will be the key to providing relief to those who are currently enduring the harsh realities of war, as Hamas is responsible for the fact that people in the region do not have food.
“The whole world must stop Hamas also to save innocent people in Gaza. Hamas doesn’t let them take food, and this is the real picture,” asserted Simona, who continued to share details of some of the crimes committed by Hamas and its leader, Sinwar, towards people in the region.
She also asserted that despite receiving aid from other countries and Israel, Hamas hoards food for themselves and prevents civilians from accessing it by resorting to violence and killing Gazans who attempt to take the aid.
“People in Gaza don’t have food not because Israel doesn’t give it to them, but because Hamas doesn’t let anyone have it,” she said.
“The world needs to know the truth. Sinwar doesn’t care about his people. If the world wants good for the civilians in Gaza. they must tell Sinwar to make a deal,” added Simona.
Simona Recounts the Horror of Oct. 7
“It began at six and a half in the morning. Hamas came from the air, with the cars, from all the places, and there were hundreds of them in our kibbutz,” recounted Simona, who described how on the day of the massacre, couples, individuals, and families living in Kfar Aza had to stay in their safe rooms for up to 13 hours, as did many other people in the South.
“Think about little kids who needed to be in a safe room for 11 hours, with no water and no food, in the dark. It was terrible for them, and until now, children speak about this,” said Simona.
Recalling what she saw with her own eyes, Simona added: “I saw how they [Hamas terrorists] kill people. I remember a house that burned slowly until there wasn’t any more fire, and I knew that a couple was there, and I knew they were burning alive.”
According to Simona, Hamas killed 63 people in Kfar Aza alone.
“I want everyone who has a daughter, sister, or mother to think about what they would do if their family had to go through the same thing. Everyone who has a grandmother, grandfather, daughter, son, nephew, brother—what would you do?” Simona asked rhetorically.
About Doron
Simona’s daughter Doron, 31, is a veterinary nurse.
“She likes animals and kids, and she is like a second mother to her little nephew. They love her so much. She didn’t do anything wrong to anyone. She always wants to help everyone,” Simona said.
“Her work is the thing that she likes the most. All the time we had dogs in our house. She brings animals to our house and takes care of them,” she continued.
“I want to hold her. I miss her so much. She is my baby, and I want her to come back,” added Simona.
“We hear all the time that Hamas kills another hostage, and we are afraid,” admitted Simona.