After 51 days in Hamas captivity, 84-year-old Alma Avraham, one of the older women abducted to Gaza, returned to Israel on Sunday evening as part of the third phase of the abductees' return agreement with Hamas. Avraham arrived directly at Soroka Hospital in Beer Sheva in serious condition.
Documentation: The convoy with the abductees released in Israeli territory// 27A
The Health Ministry said, "Her family members who are waiting for her will meet her at the hospital. The medical teams that have been preparing for a long time are also waiting for her arrival. At the hospital, she will receive medical and mental treatment and any other needs that arise." Soroka added: "We would like to remind you that these are sensitive moments for the returnees and their families, and we ask that their privacy be protected."
Ziva Leszczynski Alma Avraham's best friend who is on the list of those released, photo: Gideon Markowitz
Alma was abducted on a motorcycle from her kibbutz to Gaza, and since then her children have been crying out to bring her home. On the morning of October 7, when sirens began in Nahal Oz as well, Alma, who lives alone, entered the safe room. Like the rest of the kibbutz residents, she was instructed not to leave. While there, she spoke with her son Uri Ravitz, who said: "She said she was in the safe room alone. I told her that there was an infiltration of terrorists in Sderot, and it took me a while to understand that she was saying, 'There is also here.'"
The terrorists who arrived at the kibbutz broke into her home and kidnapped her. When one of her children arrived at her house, he found an empty, upside-down, destroyed house. The safe room in the house was open and her bed was upside down. The family received information that Alma may have been kidnapped, and later a photo came to confirm this.
While still in captivity, her son told Israel Hayom: "I look at the picture and I see my 84-year-old mother sitting on a motorcycle, with two armed men next to her and her face turned back a little, but it's clear to me that it's her. Please bring my mother home. She is a very beautiful woman, both inside and out. It has the innocence of the person who established this country."
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