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On October 7, Mia Shem was taken hostage by Hamas. She spent 54 days in captivity. Now she describes her experiences.
Tel Aviv/Gaza – Mia Schem was one of the hostages kidnapped by the militia in Gaza during Hamas’ terrorist attack on the Supernova music festival on October 7. She was released on November 30 as part of a deal between Israel and Hamas.
The 21-year-old Schem has now spoken to Israeli TV channels about her time in captivity Channel 12 and Channel 13 spoken. In it she describes having gone through “hell” while being held hostage by Hamas for 54 days. And declares: “There are no innocent civilians in Gaza,” as the Times of Israel quoted from the interview. It is important for Schem to share her experiences and show what is really happening in Gaza.
Hamas hostage reports: “Hamas shot all the wounded who still appeared to be alive”
She describes in detail the first moments of her kidnapping, when Hamas stormed the Supernova Festival. In total, thousands of Hamas supporters crossed the border into southern Israel that day, killing more than 1,200 people and kidnapping 240 to Gaza. After the rocket fire began, she fled in her car with two friends.
As she drove, her friend yelled, “They’re shooting,” Schem recalls. So she stepped on the gas to escape Hamas. But they shot at the tires and the car stopped. When a truck full of armed Hamas members then pulled up to the car, one of them looked at her and shot her in the arm at close range. Afterwards, covered in blood and lying on the ground, she screamed: “I lost my hand.”
Shem saw Hamas terrorists shooting at all the wounded who still appeared to be alive. So she tried to play dead. She spotted a man running amidst burning cars, thought he was an Israeli and called for help. However, he was a Hamas terrorist who asked them to stand up. She was then pulled by her hair, dragged into a car and transported to Gaza, wounded.
Mia Schem on the day she was freed from Hamas hostage. © IMAGO
Doctor tells Hamas hostage Shem: ‘You’re not coming home alive’
She was semi-conscious on the way to Gaza, says Schem. When she arrived in Gaza, she was dragged out of the car by her hair and taken to the back room of a hospital. “There they stretched out my arm, tied it to a piece of plastic, and I lay there for three days,” describes Schem.
She was then taken to an operating room, where she was operated on “without anesthesia, without anything,” like her Channel 12 News explained. In an interview with Channel 13, she said she was drugged, but didn’t elaborate. At that point she was sure that her arm would have to be amputated. Schem did not see the face of the operating doctor. Nevertheless, he looked at her and said: “You’re not coming home alive.”
Hamas hostage on his biggest fear in Gaza captivity: “I was afraid of being raped”
The day after the operation, Hamas forced Shem to make a propaganda video for the terrorist militia to publish. It was the first video featuring a hostage that Hamas released in the wake of October 7. “They told me to say that they would take care of me and treat me well,” she describes. And she was encouraged to do what she was told – if she was afraid of dying.
She was then taken to a family’s house. The entire family was involved with Hamas, including the wife and children. “I started asking myself questions: Why am I in a family home? Why are there children here? “Why is there a woman here?” she explains.
Schem emphasizes that she had to clean and treat her wound herself while in Hamas captivity. And that despite the fact that it was constantly monitored by a member of Hamas. “He rapes you with his eyes, a vicious look. I was afraid of being raped. It was my biggest fear there,” says Schem.
Hamas hostage Shem survived the terrorist group’s attack – unlike many others
Despite her experiences, Shem survived the 54-day hostage-taking by Hamas. Unlike many others who were on the grounds of the Supernova Festival in southern Israel that day – such as 22-year-old German Shani Louk, who was killed by Hamas.
Shem was released at the end of November in a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas. This followed the ceasefire previously brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the USA. In total, Hamas released 105 Israeli hostages, and Israel handed over 240 hostages in return. There are currently around 129 Israeli hostages in Gaza. On Thursday, hundreds of people in Israel demonstrated for her release. (Fabian Hartmann)
2023-12-30 21:23:01
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