Israel
Released hostage Mia Schem says she ‘went through a Holocaust’ whilst being held in Gaza
The 21-year-old Israeli also claimed: ‘Everyone in Gaza is a terrorist’
December 28, 2023 15:36
The 21-year-old Israeli also claimed: ‘Everyone in Gaza is a terrorist’
December 28, 2023 15:36An Israeli woman taken hostage by Hamas for 54 days claimed she “went through a Holocaust” while being held captive in Gaza.
Mia Schem, 21, revealed that she felt “like an animal in a zoo” after being taken on October 7. She was later released in November.
She also told Channel 13 in an interview to be aired on Thursday: “Everyone [in Gaza] is a terrorist”.
The French-Israeli citizen was taken hostage from the Supernova festival alongside dozens of others.
She was the first person to appear in a Hamas hostage video on October 16.
In the video, she said: "Hi, I'm Mia Schem, 21 years old from Shoham. Currently, I'm in Gaza. I returned early Saturday morning from Sderot; I was at a party. I was seriously injured in my hand.
“I underwent surgery on my hand at the hospital [in Gaza] for three hours. They are taking care of me, giving me medicine, everything is fine.”
Schem has now shared that her procedure was performed with “no anaesthesia, no nothing” in a surgery that left her “choking on [her] own tears”.
She revealed that she was told by a member of the terrorist group: “Enough, or I will send you down the tunnel”.
Unveiling Hamas Captivity | Mia Schem Shares Her Experience of Being Kidnapped into Gaza: “I simply went through Holocaust.”
— Adam Albilya - אדם אלביליה (@AdamAlbilya) December 28, 2023
Released hostage Mia Schem recounts her harrowing experience being held hostage, revealing the stark realization of the civilian circumstances of her… pic.twitter.com/qRK47hMMYd
Vivian Hadar, Schem’s aunt, has previously shared that her niece’s surgery was performed by a veterinarian.
She also told the Jerusalem Post that her daughter's experience in Gaza left her “traumatised…thin, and weak”.
Schem also told Channel 13 that she was held in Gaza by a family of civilians and that the whole family were involved with Hamas, including women and children.
For Schem, leaving captivity meant leaving behind other hostages, some of whom were taken from the festival alongside her.
“It’s the hardest thing in the world that other hostages are not released,” she said. “They said ‘Mia, please, don’t let them forget us’”.
It comes after a leading psychiatrist at the Ichilov Tel Aviv medical centre said many hostages released in November were still receiving intensive treatment for trauma.
Renana Etain told The Guardian: “Most of the hostages who came back went through very severe physical and mental abuse … We know that they have a long way ahead of them.”
Etain said that hostages had suffered the worst abuse she had witnessed in her career, and many were still suffering from intrusive memories, severe nightmares, and dissociative symptoms.