On January 25th, four Israeli young women who had been captured by Hamas on October 7th were released from Gaza and happily reunited with their families as part of the current ceasefire deal. These four girls—Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag—were IDF lookouts.
They were captured at the Nahal Oz military base on October 7th and then held in Gaza for 477 days. Before they were released, Hamas paraded them through the streets of Gaza, swarmed by thousands of jeering Palestinians, and forced them to go up on a stage and stand in front of a sign that read, “Zionism will not win.”
To those discussing how happy the hostages appeared and suggesting that they may have been treated well in Gaza, it’s important to consider this: What would anyone do if the terrorists still holding their friends or family captive ordered them to go on stage and smile? Of course they would comply, understanding that others’ lives are still at risk. Also, could it be possible that the smiles of these four girls were a result of the sheer relief of finally being on their way home, after 477 days in captivity, to reunite with their families?
Liri, one of the four hostages recently released, shared with her parents that Hamas officials informed them before the staged “ceremony” that they would be required to speak on stage. Instead, Liri and the others decided to make “victory gestures,” effectively sabotaging Hamas’ planned display. In an interview with Radio 103, Liri’s father, Eli Albag, explained, “The moment they made the victory gestures, the Hamas organizers realized that they’d got themselves into a mess with these girls, took them down from the stage, and didn’t let them speak.” He added, “When Liri told me this, she said, ‘Dad, if they had let me speak, I would have said one sentence in Arabic: “My name is Liri Albag, and I’m Number One.”‘”
In the same interview, Eli Albag shared shocking details his daughter revealed about the civilians of Gaza, exposing their true nature. She said, “Dad, there are two million terrorists there, make no mistake. I sat with children aged 8 and 4 who were cursing the Jews.” Another aspect that raises questions about the true innocence of Gaza’s civilians is the fact that, right before every hostage was released in this deal, they were surrounded not only by hundreds of Hamas members but also by thousands of so-called “Gazan civilians.” Many former hostages share similar accounts of their experiences, with Liri Albag’s story mirroring that of others who have been through the same ordeal. Mia Schem, who was captured on October 7th and then released in November 2023, told Israel’s Channel 13 News, “Everyone there [in Gaza] is a terrorist. Entire families are under Hamas. I realized I was staying with a family. I started to ask myself, ‘Why am I in a family home? Why are there children here? Why is there a wife here?’”
Keep in mind that the released hostages have to be really careful about what they say. Liri Albag’s family said that while she and the three other hostages released on Saturday experienced “insane things that are hard to tell everything about” during their 15 months in Hamas captivity, they are leery of speaking out due to the fact that 90 hostages have yet to be freed from Gaza.
Another fascinating piece of this story came when former hostage Amit Soussana, a civilian who was kidnapped on October 7th and released in a hostage deal in November of that year, revealed in an interview recently that Liri Albag saved her life while they were in captivity together. Soussana recounted that her captors tied her hands and legs together while one struck her with a stick and the other threatened her with a sharp metal object. They insisted she confess to being in the military, claiming they had seen her on TV in uniform. The captors then brought in other hostages, including Albag, urging her to admit the truth. A guard aimed a gun at her head and threatened, “You have 40 minutes to tell us the truth, or else I kill you.” According to Soussana, Albag then spoke to the guard and convinced them that, indeed, she was not in the military. “I told her when she came back: ‘I don’t know if they would have killed me or not; as far as I’m concerned, you saved my life,’” Soussana told the interviewer.
Liri Albag is just one of many in this war who have proved themselves to be real heroes. Not only did she completely ruin Hamas’ plans to make her and her friends a propaganda spectacle, but she also likely saved the life of one of her fellow hostages. May this be an encouragement to us to continue to pray for the complete destruction of Hamas and the return home of every single hostage.
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