On 7 October 2023, 21-year-old French-Israeli woman Mia Schem was abducted by Hamas during the Re'im music festival massacre, part of the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[1] Her abduction, a video of her in captivity in Gaza, and subsequent release on 30 November garnered international media attention, and she became a face of the hostage crisis during the Israel–Hamas war.[1][2]

Abduction

On 7 October 2023, Hamas militants attacked the Nova music festival near Re'im, Israel as part of the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. During the ensuing Re'im music festival massacre, 364 civilians were killed and forty were taken hostage into the Gaza Strip.[3] Schem attended the festival with her friend, 28-year-old French-Israeli Elia Toledano. During the attack at 7:17am, Schem messaged a friend saying, "They are shooting at us please come save us."[1]

Schem recounted that she was abducted by militants after she left her friends burning vehicle during the attack.[4] Schem was shot in the arm at point blank by a Hamas militant, and she and Toledano were both abducted and taken hostage into Gaza. Toledano's body was later discovered by the Israel Defense Forces during an operation in December.[2][5] A militant reportedly began to touch her upper body inappropriately and only stopped after she screamed and the militant noticed that she had been wounded.[4] Someone else dragged her into a car and drove her into Gaza.[5]

Captivity and treatment

Schem was reportedly initially held by a Gazan family with young kids who would open the door to the room where she was being held just to stare at her.[5] During her captivity, Schem was held in a room with her captor while his wife and children were in an adjacent room. Reportedly the man's wife would bring him food, without bringing any for Schem, and some days, Schem would not be allowed to eat at all. At one point, Schem's captor forced her to watch her mother speaking at a news conference calling for Schem's release. She reported being taunted and emotionally abused by her captors, who would say that she would be like Gilad Shalit.[5][6]

After three days of captivity, Schem was dressed in a hijab and forced to undergo surgery for her gunshot wound . For days afterward, she received no painkillers and had to replace her own bandages. The day after the surgery, she was forced to film a video which was released by Hamas.[5][6] Hamas released the video of Schem on 16 October, the first person to appear in a Hamas hostage video. In the video, Schem says she was injured and pleads to be returned to her family. She appeared pale and had a long, fresh scar clearly visible[1] and an injured arm. The French government condemned the video and led Schem's mother Keren Schem to hold a press conference in Tel Aviv calling for her immediate release.[7]

Schem was reportedly moved between Gazan homes via ambulance.[5] Several days before her release, Schem reported she was taken into Hamas tunnels 200 feet underground, where she encountered other Israeli hostages for the first time during her captivity.[6][5]

Release and aftermath

Schem was one of 8 hostages freed after 54 days in captivity on 30 November as part of 105 hostages released during a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. French President Emmanuel Macron described her release as a "great joy". The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum praised her "fighting spirit".[7][5]

Several weeks later, Schem sat for a pair of televised interviews with Channel 12 and Channel 13 that aired on 29 December. Schem's account of her time in captivity mirrored the poor treatment recounted by other hostages and touched a particular nerve in Israel, according to the New York Times.[6] Schem recounted that she had "experienced Hell. Everyone there are terrorists...there are no innocent civilians, not one."[5]

After her release, Schem developed epilepsy from the trauma and lack of sleep during her captivity.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Kottasova, Ivana (2023-10-17). "Hamas releases first video of a hostage taken to Gaza". CNN. Archived from the original on 2023-10-26. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b Versano, Carlo (2023-12-15). "Hamas Executes Supernova Festival Hostage Who Was Kidnapped With Freed Captive Mia Schem". The Messenger. Archived from the original on 2024-01-06. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Death count from Re'im music festival massacre reportedly updated to 364 — a third of Oct. 7 fatalities". Times of Israel. 2023-11-17. Archived from the original on 2023-11-17. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  4. ^ a b "Israeli-French hostage recounts harrowing experience in captivity". AP News. 2023-12-30. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Spiro, Amy (2023-12-19). "Freed hostage Mia Schem: 'I experienced hell. There are no innocent civilians in Gaza'". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2024-01-10. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d Gavrielov, Nadav (2023-12-30). "An Israeli hostage describes her time in captivity in searing detail". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2023-12-31. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  7. ^ a b FitzGerald, James (2023-11-30). "Mia Schem: Wounded festival-goer in Hamas hostage video freed". BBC. Archived from the original on 2024-01-10. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
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