Israeli mom with 3-year-old twins describes horror of family’s Gaza captivity: ‘It’s Russian roulette’
A former Hamas hostage says her seven weeks in captivity were like being forced to play “Russian roulette” every day — but her faith in humanity was restored when fellow captives readily gave up their meager portions of food to her 3-year-old twin daughters to help them survive.
Sharon Alony-Cunio, 34, described the nightmare🎐 she and her family experienced when Hamas broke into their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7 and kidnapped her, her husband, David, and their twin girls, Emma and🐬 Yuli.
Crammed together in a tight space with 12 other hostages at first, her family was at the mercy of the terror group, which then began constantly moving t☂hem across Gaza to flee from the advancing Israeli army and airstrikes, .
“It’s Russian roulette. You don’t know whether tomorrow morning they’ll keep you alive or kill you just because they want to or just because their backs a🍰re against the wall,” she said.
The mother of two said one of her toddler girls was separated from them for 10 days before eventually being returned, while her h🌟usband was removed from the group three days before the mom and twins were freed last month. He remains a captive.
Alony-Cunio said that while held, her family 👍and the other hostages with them struggled to sustain themselves on pita bread provided by Hamas, along with the rare treats of dates, cheese, rice and meat rations that n💖eeded to be split among them.
“Everyone gave up food for [Emma and Yuli],” Alony-Cunio said of the kindness of her fellow hostages.
But food wasn’t the only obstacle, Alony-Cunio said. She said she often struggled to keep her children’s minds occupied, as they could do nothing but whisper and sit in a room that would sometimes go dark for hours at a time after the power was cut.
There was also the problem of allowing the twins to use the bathroom, with Al♉ony-Cun💛io noting that they often had to go in a sink or a trash bin.
As she struggled to help her children survive the 52-day ordeal, Alony-Cunio said, the worst part was being kept in the dark about what was happening in the outside world and whether th🐽ere were any efforts to free them.
“Every day, there is crying, frustration and anxiety,” she said. ” ‘How long are we going to be here? Have they forgotten about us? Have they given up on us?’ ”
Alony-Cunio and her twins were among the 11 Israeli hostages freed during the fourth day of the temporary truce agreement between Hamas and the Jewish nation, which♑ ultimately saw more than 100 people released by the end of November.
During the family’s time in captivity, their relatives became vo💎cal advocates for the immediate release of the hostages, urging both the Israeli and US governments to do everything i🌼n their power to negotiate a deal.
Now Alony-Cunio has joined her family in calling on Israel to make the hostages the top priority in the war against Hamas, hoping that soon she and🦹 her daughters can be reunited with husband David.
“I am petrified I wi🦋ll get bad news that he is no longer alive,” Alony-Cunio said.
“We are not just names on a poster,” she said of the hostages. “We are human beings, flesh and blood.
“The father of my girls is there, my partner, and many other fathers, children, mothers, brothers.”
With Post wires
