Yarden Roman Gat, who was released from Hamas captivity at the end of November, was interviewed on the night between Sunday and Monday (Israel time) on CBS's "60 Minutes" program and told the story of her abduction and captivity by Hamas.
"It's a very, very frightening experience to be on a war zone. You cannot ignore it. It's very intense," says Yarden Roman-Gat, who was held in Gaza for 54 days after the deadly Hamas attack in Israel. https://t.co/I784msgKu2 pic.twitter.com/IizqN7WiZT
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) December 18, 2023
Roman Gat says that after the terrorists took her out of her home with her husband Alon and her daughter Geffen, the three managed to evade the terrorists during the trip to Gaza, but split up during the escape. In a split second, she decided to transfer her daughter to Alon - the two managed to evade the terrorists and thus survived.
"At first I pretended to be dead, but the kidnappers saw there was no blood so they talked among themselves and decided to take me," Jordan said. "They dragged me to the floor until we got to the car."
Alon described in an interview what happened after Yarden handed him the girl: "We heard shots from every direction while I was running with a vine, until I found a kind of alcove in the ground. We both went in there, keeping quiet. I thought about all the possible things, and whether Jordan was injured, but I knew that the important task was to save Geffen. Geffen didn't cry even once. She just said it was a shame we didn't bring water."
"I was presented like some kind of prize"
In the interview, Jordan spoke about the fear that she would be raped by her kidnappers. "At first when we got to the car, they tried to take my clothes off. It was one of the most terrifying moments. I was constantly afraid of being raped. Luckily, they didn't.
"When we arrived in Gaza, my kidnappers couldn't stop presenting me as some kind of prize and my face as an object. I wasn't human. All around us were full of people celebrating and rejoicing.
Roni Roman, whose sister Yarden was abducted by Hamas
"Then they took me into a house where I was alone, but I wasn't actually alone for a moment – because there were guards all hours of the day. They are all men. I was completely covered in a hijab and they were following me all the time. I was completely hopeless. But I knew they would do anything to keep me safe, because I was their 'trophy.'
"As a woman, the fear of rape or other things that can happen can never get out of your head, ever. It's just not an option because while you're there you're helpless, you have no protection. You can't resist anything. It can cost your life. This fear wasn't that extreme all the time, but it never went away. He's always there. It's a terrifying feeling to be in a war zone, you can't avoid it. It was very intense."
Yarden Roman, days after she was released from captivity, photo: Gideon Markowitz
IDF fighters operating in the Gaza Strip, photo: IDF Spokesperson
During one of her days in captivity, Jordan heard about her family on the radio. "I heard that my sister-in-law Carmel and I were kidnapped to Gaza, but I hadn't heard anything about Alon and Geffen, so I assumed they were okay." Carmel, Alon's sister, is still held captive by Hamas. Allon said he has not been the same person since October 7. "I'm torn between trying to get information about my sister in captivity, while my mother was murdered and I didn't even have time to mourn it."
The program "60 Minutes" is broadcast in Israel exclusively on Cellcom TV and the full interview will be broadcast later this week with Hebrew subtitles.
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