My gentle, loving, teenage daughter was pulled by her hair into the back of a Hamas truck and paraded in blood-soaked pyjamas... Now I want the world to hear my screams
By Andy Jehring
Daily Mail
Dec 116, 2023
The harrowing footage of a terrified teenage girl being pulled by the hair and bundled into the back of a truck by Hamas terrorists horrified the world
The harrowing footage of a terrified, bloodied young girl being pulled by the hair and bundled into the back of a truck by Hamas terrorists horrified the world.
But for Ayelet Levy-Shachar to see her gentle, loving 19-year-old daughter Naama Levy paraded in blood-soaked pyjamas by gun-toting fanatics was beyond her darkest nightmare.
The 50-year-old mother-of-four talks of the 'unbearable pain' of watching as her second child was taken into war-ravaged Gaza where she has remained underground for over 70 days.
In her first heart-wrenching newspaper interview, Dr Levy-Shachar tells The Mail on Sunday she wants the world to know her daughter not by that awful footage, but as a 'determined', sporty girl who loves American rock singer Pink, volunteered for pro-Palestinian charities and dreams of becoming a diplomat.
And she urged mothers around the world to 'hear my scream' and 'take action' to get all of those hostages still held in Gaza back home.
The mother-of-four talks of the 'unbearable pain' of watching as her second child was taken into war-ravaged Gaza , where she has remained underground in a Hamas tunnel for more than 70 days (pictured: Ayelet Levy Schacher and her daughter Naama Levy)
Sitting in her tranquil apartment in the leafy commuter city of Ra'anana, 10 miles north of Tel Aviv, Dr Levy-Shachar describes how her quiet suburban life as a family GP descended into hell on October 7.
That day she had been due to visit Naama in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, 60 miles south near Gaza, and had left a cool box out by the door the night before to fill with all Naama's favourite treats.
'I was just here with the other kids and at 6.30am the siren went off,' said the medic, who is also the doctor for the Israeli women's national football team.
'I texted Naama asking, 'What's going on? Are you ok?' She wrote back to me: 'We're in the safe room. I've never heard anything like this in my life.''
That was to be the last time they communicated.
As news started to emerge, Dr Levy-Shachar became worried for her daughter, but it was only when Naama's 52-year-old father, Yoni Levy, phoned four hours later that the full horror started to emerge.
Sitting on her porch, playing a monopoly board game with Naama's siblings, Amit, 21, Michal, 16, and Omri, 11, Mr Levy told her: 'Something bad's going on. There's a video of Naama being kidnapped to Gaza - the video is in Gaza.'
Panic struck and her children began searching social media. Naama's brother Amit quickly found the horrifying footage and told his mother: 'Mum, don't watch that.'
'Then my younger daughter, Michal, watched it,' said Dr Levy-Shachar. 'She started crying saying, 'Why is she alone there?'
'There are so many specific details in that video. Her terrified face, her being dragged by the hair, her bloody sweatpants, pyjamas, her wounds. But what her sister saw was that she was alone. That was the most terrifying part for her.'
Dr Levy-Shachar added: 'I understood that something terrible is happening; just through her eyes, through my younger daughter's eyes.'
Dr Levy-Schacher (pictured holding a photograph of her daughter Naama Levy) urged mothers around the world to 'hear my scream' and 'take action' to get all of those hostages still held in Gaza back home
The siblings of Naama Levy speak during a Lights for Liberty event demanding the release of the remaining 135 hostages held in Gaza on December 13, 2023
But cruelly the ceasefire broke down and Naama remained held captive. She is one of 17 young women among 130 hostages still being held in Gaza. 'It's unbearable,' Dr Levy-Shachar (pictured) said, adding that she had created a 'welcome home' board for her daughter
Israel has responded to the atrocity by pounding Gaza from land, air and sea. A short-lived truce brought Hamas to the negotiating table to secure the release of 105 hostages last month.
But cruelly the ceasefire broke down and Naama remained held captive. She is one of 17 young women among 130 hostages still being held in Gaza.
'It's unbearable,' Dr Levy-Shachar said, adding that she had created a 'welcome home' board for her daughter.
Seeing other families reunited with their loved ones last month was heart-breaking, she said.
Her voice wobbling, she added: 'It's like a scream inside me, saying 'My Naama, I'm waiting for you, Naama'.
'I'm happy for everyone who got out, but she is my daughter. The world has continued, people are continuing with their lives and Christmas is coming, but everything has stopped for us.'
One glimmer of hope came from released hostages who confirmed they had seen Naama still alive.
'We know she has some wounds, but she's up on her feet and she's walking - so I'm very hopeful,' the mother said. Reacting to reports this week of hostages being killed, she added: 'It makes it even more important for the world to know what we're dealing with.
'Time is running out for these young girls,' she said. 'When I talk, I have my soft voice, and my words come out slowly, but I want mothers around the world to hear my scream - and to take action.'
Incredibly, she does not hate the people who took Naama.
'I have to hope,' she says. 'Maybe one of them, they have a heart. They can see that lovely little girl; they can be good to her and keep her from harm. I don't want to be hateful - I just want her back.'
Dr Levy-Shachar said she imagines her daughter lying down in a tunnel in Gaza, and being by her side.
'I try to stroke her hair, and, in my mind, I ease her to sleep. I say, 'Hang in there, we're coming to get you'.'
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