Former hostage Naama Levy spoke at an event in New York on Friday, where she talked about the plight of the remaining 48 hostages in the Gaza Strip and advocated for efforts to secure their release.
The event was hosted by Hostage Aid Worldwide, a nonprofit that collects data on hostages and all unlawfully detained persons worldwide since 1979.
“You have all seen that horrifying video of me from that darkest day,” she said. “On October 7, 2023, I was kidnapped – violently dragged from a black jeep, wounded, terrified, bleeding, and helpless, paraded in front of a hateful, raging mob, with the terrifying sounds of gunfire and cheering all around me.”
Levy, who was released after 477 days in captivity in January 2025, added that she “suffered severe malnutrition, indescribable hunger, and many untreated injuries. I was kept in unbearable sanitary conditions, with the constant fear that each moment could be my last.
My time being held hostage will remain carved into my body and soul for the rest of my life.
“One of my most frightening memories was when I was forced to run from house to house with my two captors. Terrified and under fire, I could hear the gunshots and the bullets whistling past my ears. I ran as fast as I could, struggling to breathe, while my captors reloaded their weapons.”
Her release secured due to agreement
Levy stressed that she was only released as part of a hostage deal reached through negotiations. “That same diplomacy must bring back all the people who can still be saved.”
The former hostage also asked the crowd to imagine if they were in her position or in the positions of the other 48 hostages still in captivity. “The air is empty of oxygen. It feels impossible to take a deep breath. And each time you try to, you choke from the lack of air,” she said.
“As I stand here before you, there are hostages for whom this nightmare has not ended. Some of them I saw with my own eyes while I was in this hell. Their faces don’t leave me. Their voices are silenced. The world only sees fragments of their suffering in horrifying videos.
“I am here to cry out for them, from the depths of hell where they cannot be heard. The voices of young, beautiful people – for whom there is still hope.”
In May, Levy said, “In the first weeks of captivity, I was alone. Sometimes, entire days went without food, and only a little water. My captors placed a pot outside the house where I was being held, and the rain filled it. That’s what kept me going.”
Levy was abducted from the Nahal Oz base along with several other female IDF surveillance soldiers during the October 7 massacre. Her plight quickly gained international attention when footage of her in Gaza, in bloodied gray sweatpants, circulated online.