Almost three years have passed since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel — yet the wounds remain raw for survivors. Those who escaped the Nova music festival massacre or endured captivity in Gaza’s dark tunnels are now breaking their silence, sharing harrowing memories that haunt them daily. According to a Daily Mail report, that day saw thousands of Hamas militants storm across the border, killing approximately 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting around 250 others to Gaza.
A Survivor’s Testimony: Mia Saim
Twenty-four-year-old Mia Saim — a French-Israeli woman — became the first hostage seen in a Hamas video released on October 16, 2023. She had suffered severe injuries to her arm during the Nova festival attack before being dragged away to Gaza, the Daily Mail reports.
Speaking at a Nova exhibition event in London, Saim recalled the sheer panic as armed attackers stormed the site. “I don’t want to die now,” she repeated to herself, trying to flee. Moments later, she was shot at point-blank range in the arm. She lost nearly five liters of blood and felt her limb begin to detach from her body. Before being taken, she watched helplessly as her 28-year-old boyfriend, Elyah Tolentano, was seized with his hands bound — the last time she saw him alive. She later learned he had been killed.
Life in Captivity
Upon arrival in Gaza, one captor greeted her with: “Welcome to Gaza.” Though gravely injured, she received no proper medical care. Some doctors attempted makeshift stabilization of her arm — which continued to deteriorate. “They treated me like an animal in a cage,” she said.
For 55 full days, she was held alone in a windowless room under constant surveillance. “They gave me no medication. My body was falling apart. It’s a miracle I still have my arm. I don’t know how I survived so many days without treatment,” she confessed. At times, even water was withheld — including by the guard’s own wife, who refused her access for days.
Saim believed she would never return home. A terrorist told her: “You’ll never go back. You’ll stay here. You’ll marry here.” During her captivity, she was forced to appear in a Hamas propaganda video, reading a pre-written script. She tried to convey the truth only through her eyes — knowing her mother would be watching.
“My body had collapsed, but my soul was stronger than ever. I kept thinking about my mother, the moment I’d see her again, and the future I dreamed of,” she said.