Jerusalem – Early on the morning of October 7, 2023, Ohad Ben Ami heard that the alarm was leaving for the Kibbutz community. He and his wife ran to the safe room of his house, where they quickly realized that something is unusual.
On his phone, Ben Ami could see that the anxieties sounded on others nearby Kibbutzicim. There were also reports of air attacks. He turned off the phone to avoid panic.
After about 15 minutes, he heard people on the street.
“Then I understand that this is very serious, and this is not only a missile attack. This is much more complicated, ”Ben Ami said.
He began to receive messages from the neighbors who told him that the attackers entered their homes. Therefore, he crawled out of his safe room to try to fix the door to his house. Then he was shot.
When he retreated to his safe room, the attacking followed him. They easily opened the door behind him, which was only supposed to protect those inside, from shells or flame and could not be blocked.
When they entered, Bena Ami's wife was hidden, so Ben Ami told them that he was alone.
“I was sure that I would be dead,” he said.
Amir Levy/Getty
But unlike many of their neighbors, that day in Kibbutz, take it, Ben Ami was not killed. Looked in the back seat of the car, he was taken to gas, where he will spend 491 days in captivity.
“In my opinion, I'm down there”
During his time, Ben Ami was transferred from an apartment to an apartment as a hostage. Many did not have running water or the functioning of toilets.
“The conditions were very, very bad. Very bad. All the time, IDF [Israeli military] bombing. Therefore, we are very afraid to die from our bombs, ”Ben Ami said.
Sometimes he was kept with other hostages, including some time – his wife once Ben Ami, who was also captured. She was released in the first deal with hostages and the exchange of concluded between Israel and Hamas later in 2023.
Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty 
Ben Ami was moved below the earth, to the chain of Tunnel Hamas, where, according to him, there is no light, very little food, and the sanitary conditions were extremely bad.
He was placed in the area with two other hostages, Elkah Bokhbot and Bar Coopershtein. Three more Israeli captives joined them, but the number of products they received did not increase.
“We are hungry all the time. We are very nervous. We try to fight and get used to the situation, ”he said.
The group began to lose weight, trying to divide very limited food among them. But, despite the terrible conditions, Benu Ami managed to continue.
“They [Hamas] Let's look at television 15 minutes once a month … Therefore, we saw that people in Israel are fighting for us, ”he said. – They. [Hamas] He told us that our government does not want to return us. The army, the Israeli army, wants to kill us. The Israeli government will not pay the price. And our families are quiet. But when we saw on TV that all Israel comes out … It gives us hope. Give us a lot of hope to continue and be strong. ”
In February of this year, Ben Ami was released as part of the last deal with hostages and the exchange of concluded, but his companions were not.
Jehad alshrafi/AP 
“When I think about my five friends and about all 48 hostages that are still there, I am very, very worried about them,” Ben Ami said. “I love my country, and I love people, but our government is disabled. And I still have a sense of insult. I feel that they refused me. “
Since negotiations on a transaction are underway in Egypt, which can potentially see the release of all the remaining hostages, Ben Ami says he hopes.
“I say and say – but, in my opinion, I am there. So, until they return, all 48, I cannot live. I'm still a hostage. I am a free person, but not in my soul, ”he said. “I ask all the sides to go to the middle, and then … shake your hand, finish them and bring (home) all the hostages. To give our nation time for recovery, as well as Palestinians. They also need to recover from everything that happened. ”
