Hamas hostages ordeal: Mother of abducted children recounts her harrowing story

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00:00We can now bring in Hadass Jawi Calderon.

00:03You were resident of the Nir Otz kibbutz in southern Israel.

00:07Your mother and your niece were killed on the 7th of October by Hamas, and your two

00:11children, 12- and 17-year-old Erez and Zahar, were taken hostage.

00:16They were away from you for 52 days before the release of their father, and your ex-husband

00:22remains in Gaza.

00:24Now you've written a book titled 52 Days Without Them, which will be coming out in

00:31English.

00:32Thank you so much for speaking to us here on France 24.

00:34Firstly, I have to ask you, how are your children doing?

00:39My children, you know, they got through an earthquake.

00:43It's like a very traumatic situation.

00:51And their father is still there, he's still kidnapped as a hostage.

00:57So they can't really be cured before he comes back, they can't really get a normal life.

01:07And they lost a lot.

01:08They lost their confidence, they lost their happiness, they lost their innocence.

01:15What did they tell you about their time there?

01:21It's a long story, you know, they tell me many things.

01:24Especially the most powerful thing is that they were very, very helpless, and very frightening.

01:38The fear was very strong, because they didn't know what's going to happen.

01:44They didn't know who from their family is dead, who is alive.

01:49They've been separated, and they were very, very, very afraid.

01:54They didn't know if they're going to be murdered, or raped, abused, or tortured.

02:02Were they kept together?

02:03No.

02:04They were separated.

02:05They were separated from the beginning.

02:07And did they see their father when they were in Gaza?

02:13They were all separated, but there was a meeting between my girl, Sahar, and her father.

02:21Yes, there was a meeting, yeah.

02:24Were they able, were they fed, were they treated okay while they were there?

02:30They were in very bad conditions.

02:33They were hungry, they were very, very sad, very, very afraid.

02:40A lot of, you know, mental, psychological war.

02:46And how have you been doing?

02:47Because obviously this, you got your two children back, which must be a huge sigh of relief.

02:53But your ex-husband still remains there.

02:55You lost your mother.

02:56You lost your niece.

02:58Exactly.

02:59So it's, you know, it's that we are behind the attack of 7th of October, but we're still

03:06in this situation.

03:08This, it's never finished.

03:11It's never finished yet, yeah.

03:13We are still very worried.

03:16There are still 133 kidnaps still there for 200 days already, starving and in very bad

03:27conditions.

03:28I know that.

03:29I have the heavy evidence for my children.

03:33And, you know, it's 52 days, as I wrote in my book, that my children wasn't in holiday

03:39or vacation or a trip.

03:42They were kidnapped.

03:44And we mustn't forget that at the 7th of October, I wrote that this is for the awareness,

03:50for the evidence, for the testimony, to give this testimony for that massacre that we had

03:56at the 7th of October.

03:57I started reading your book and something that struck me is that you yourself could

04:01have been abducted.

04:02You were this close to being abducted.

04:03Exactly.

04:04Yes.

04:05Tell us what happened.

04:06And I survived.

04:07It's a miracle that I'm here.

04:08Because you were hiding in a location near your house.

04:11Yes.

04:12For how many hours?

04:13Eight hours, even more.

04:16And I was surviving.

04:17I was fighting for my life.

04:19They've been just behind the door.

04:20I could hear them.

04:22You know, they wanted to kill me, to murder me.

04:25And they murdered a quarter of my kibbutz, been murdered or kidnapped.

04:29Nero's was one of the hardest hit.

04:32You're Franco-Israeli.

04:34Who did you liaise with to secure the release of your two children?

04:38Was it the French side?

04:39Was it the Israeli authorities?

04:40How did it work?

04:43You know, when you are in this kind of situation and your children and their father, actually

04:49five members of my family disappeared in one day.

04:54You shoot in the dark.

04:55You just do everything.

04:57You beg in.

04:58You scream.

04:59You demand.

05:00You ask you to anyone, to United States, to France, to Israel government, everywhere,

05:10to Qatar, because they all have the power to do something.

05:15They all involve.

05:19And do you have-

05:20I did everything.

05:21Do you have any updates from anyone regarding Ofer?

05:26We don't know nothing now.

05:27We don't have any ideas now, any information.

05:31Now you yourself said that this war has gone on 200 days.

05:36We know that Israel has managed to secure the release of two hostages, very few hostages.

05:44Now the Israeli authorities say that there is an offensive for Rafah coming.

05:49If that happens, that could potentially put the lives of people like your ex-husband and

05:53the 133 other hostages at risk.

05:57Do you feel Israel is doing enough to secure the release of hostages or is that on the

06:02back burner?

06:05It's a very complicated situation, very complicated because we don't have really- our enemy is

06:12very cruel and very tough and we can't really have this negotiation as we wish to have.

06:22So it's very difficult, but I do believe that we have to negotiate.

06:29It's the only way to make a deal to release them.

06:32It's the only way.

06:33I don't believe in the fight way.

06:37Do you believe that a ceasefire should be called for to secure the release of hostages?

06:41I believe we have to talk and to have a solution.

06:44I think we have all the big countries like Qatar and United States and France must make

06:54a big pressure to end this tragedy.

07:00You start-

07:01This is the only way.

07:02You start your book talking about your kibbutz, where you spent pretty much most of your life.

07:07Do you think that one day, if things- once everything is over, that you could ever return,

07:14given how much you have lost and seen in Niroz?

07:22Sorry what you're asking?

07:23If I'm going to go back there?

07:24If you can ever one day envision-

07:26To go back there?

07:27Never.

07:28Never.

07:29Where are you living now?

07:30I am, you know, I don't have a house now.

07:32We are actually refugees in our country.

07:36I have a nice house now for about, I don't know for how long, and then I have to move

07:41on and find my place.

07:44But I don't really care about this now.

07:47I just care about to release the other hostage because, you know, they don't have time.

07:54I have time.

07:55They don't have time.

07:57It's very critical.

07:58We must release them before they will gone.

08:03I want to end just by asking about your two children, Erez and Sahar.

08:08Have they spoken to specialists?

08:11Are they doing, are they getting the help needed to sort of heal from their experience?

08:19Yes, they do.

08:20But it's, you know, it's taking time.

08:23They need time.

08:24It's hard work.

08:29They miss their father.

08:30They worry for their father.

08:33Nobody can help with that, you know, and they're trying really hard to get to normal, regular

08:38life.

08:39But our life is not normal and not regular.

08:43We are still in this situation.

08:46Very bad situation.

08:47And I want the whole world to remember it.

08:51And don't forget it because, you know, there are so many things, other things that's around

08:56us and our awareness is going and attentions go to other things.

09:02But this 7th of October, we live the 7th of October every morning, every day, every

09:09coffee I take, I think they don't have this coffee, everything, anything I eat, I think

09:17they can't eat now.

09:18They have maybe one pita in a day and women get abused there every moment, even now.

09:24So we must release them.

09:29This is a message, immediately.

09:32Thank you so much for speaking to us.

09:33I know you've gone through a lot over the past, over six months, and it's been a nightmare

09:37for you on many fronts.

09:39So thank you so much for coming.

09:40Thank you for inviting me and I really invite anyone who see me and listen to me to read

09:48the book, to read about the fight and the fight to bring my children home.

09:57And it wasn't easy.

09:58And it'll be out in English soon.

09:59So thank you.

10:00Thank you very much.

10:01Thank you.

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