As Israelis rally against Gaza war, former hostage longs for her friends to be freed

By Emily Rose

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -As Israelis staged a "Day of Disruption" to pressure their government to win the release of hostages in Gaza, Doron Steinbrecher reflected on her 471 days in captivity and said she hoped all the remaining hostages would be set free soon.

"I begged them not to kill me," she said in an interview with Reuters as hostage families rallied to call for an end to the nearly two-year-old war.

Nowadays she can only pray that the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza, of whom Israel believes around 20 are still living, will be released, despite many failed attempts by mediators to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Her friends, twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman, are still being held by the Palestinian militant group which attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages who were taken to Gaza, according to Israel's count.

The attack, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, triggered Israel's military campaign in Gaza, in which more than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza health authorities, and starvation has spread.

"The important thing now is to bring all the hostages home. Every moment, every second, they are in danger because there's no food, no water and the sanitary situation is very bad," she said.

"I know what they are thinking now and how they are feeling now. The fear for your life every single moment. Every day you go to sleep and you don't know if you will wake up."

Steinbrecher, 32, was held captive underground and said she developed a strong bond with other young women held with her.

"In the tunnels there is no light, no fresh air," she said. "You don't know when it's day or night," she said. In one tunnel she said she could barely stand up.

Hamas militants told her that if they heard the Israeli military approaching, she would be executed immediately.

Under intense psychological pressure, Steinbrecher said she was forbidden from showing emotion and was seldom allowed to wash. Begging for food was part of daily life, she said.

PROTESTS TO END THE WAR

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas. Despite protests at home and international condemnation, Israel is preparing to launch a new offensive in Gaza City, in what it describes as the militants' last bastion.

As pressure is mounting on Netanyahu to make a deal that would release the remaining hostages, far-right ministers crucial to his political survival have threatened to bring down his government if the war ends.

Israeli demonstrators have taken part in weekly protests calling for a deal that would release all the hostages and end the war. On Tuesday, protesters blocked roads in Tel Aviv and elsewhere in Israel and a rally planned outside Israel's defence headquarters was expected to draw thousands of people.

Steinbrecher's ordeal began early on the morning of October 7 when she had prepared to go for a jog in the fields around her community of Kibbutz Kfar Aza in southern Israel.

After hearing rocket fire, she hid under a bed.

Armed fighters burst into her home, spraying the bed with bullets - one falling short of her head, she said. The attackers were about to leave when one lifted the mattress and found her.

She was released in a deal between Israel and Hamas in January, but says she can't move on until all hostages are brought back to Israel.

"I had the privilege to come home and they also deserve that," Steinbrecher said.

(Editing by Michael Georgy and Ros Russell)