Hostages survived on "a piece of bread" during days in Hamas captivity, family member says
NEW YORK - A family member of hostages released from Hamas captivity is now sharing their story of how they survived while inside Gaza. Meanwhile, their other relatives are still being held hostage.
It has since become a symbolic video of the war: 9-year-old Ohad Munder running to reunite with his father after nearly 50 days in Hamas captivity.
"Did you think they were going to come back alive?" asked CBS New York reporter Shosh Bedrosian.
"No, never. It feels like coming back from the dead, I swear. Seeing them, it was just surreal," said Roni Raviv.
Ohad's cousin Roni is now sharing his family's story in New York City, since his release with his mother, Keren, and grandmother Ruth after being kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
"They were taken in one vehicle all together, barefoot in their pajamas," said Raviv.
It is one thing to survive the atrocities on Oct. 7, but it is another to be held captive for weeks.
"They didn't know about the Nova festival. They didn't know what happened in all the other kibbutzes near them," said Raviv.
Left in the dark, Roni says their only source of knowledge was from a radio. She says they were moved to different locations in captivity and had to wait hours for the bathroom.
"They told us that the conditions were bad. Sometimes, they had to sleep on, like, waiting chairs, like in a hospital or something. And some of them slept on the chairs and some of them slept underneath," said Raviv. "They told us that there wasn't much food. Some days they just had a piece of bread."
On the outside, their family members spent weeks putting pressure on governments to get them released, even taking their story to Washington, D.C.
"He is a smart, sweet boy," said Itay Raviv.
Ohad, Keren, and Ruth were amongst the first group to be released, taken by helicopter to a hospital after captivity. Raviv says the excitement is bittersweet.
"I know it's going to affect him in the future, being in that situation for so long. Even if you're with your mom and your grandma, you can't erase it. You can't erase the horrors that he saw," said Raviv.
Ohad's grandfather, Avraham. is still in captivity at this time. They're hoping with his age and medical conditions, he will be released soon.
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