According to a report by Sky News, on August 27, 2025, Released Israeli hostage Ilana Gritzewsky addressed a news conference alongside Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon, sharing her traumatic experiences from the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack and her 55 days in Gaza captivity.
Gritzewsky, born in Mexico and who moved to Israel at age 16, is set to speak before the UN Security Council today, recounting how her “life changed forever” that fateful day.
At home with her partner when sirens blared, Gritzewsky described the invasion: “It was an attack by armoured and violent terrorists who entered our home with the intention to destroy everything belonging to us.”
Abducted and taken to Gaza, she endured relentless uncertainty. “I was taken to Gaza and held hostage for 55 days.
I never knew what to expect. Night interrogations, movements to different locations, from one civilian home to the next or to a hospital.”
Gritzewsky revealed being “constantly being used as a human shield,” including time in suffocating tunnels.
“I spent time in tunnels where it was hard to breathe. There was no light and walking was nearly impossible.”
The psychological toll was profound: “They took away my humanity piece by piece. Each time they moved me and told me I was on my way home.”
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Physical suffering compounded the ordeal. Starving, she said, “every little thing she ate she could not keep down.”
Weakened and disoriented, Gritzewsky added, “I felt that I had no strength left to fight,” and “I did not know if it was day or night or if I was going to survive or die.”
Her testimony highlights the human cost of the conflict, as she urges global leaders to address hostage crises.
Danon emphasized the need for international action against such terrorism. Gritzewsky’s story, delivered with raw emotion, underscores the brutality faced by captives, drawing attention to ongoing efforts for remaining hostages’ release.
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