Freed Hamas hostage appeals to international community in Davos GR
Published: Wednesday, Jan 17th 2024, 09:10
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She was held captive by the Islamist Hamas in tunnels in Gaza for two months: After her release, Israeli nurse Nili Margalit fears for the lives of the 136 remaining hostages. In Davos GR, she appealed to politicians to take action.
"I want my normal life back and to go back to work, but I can't finish until the other hostages are free," said the 41-year-old in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. She is one of the first Hamas hostages to travel to Switzerland following their release.
"I shouldn't be here, I shouldn't have been kidnapped, I'm a simple person from a small rural settlement," she said with a downcast face and tears in her eyes.
"My duty to fight"
What drives them is the hope that the remaining kidnapped hostages from the Palestinian Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 will also be released. "It's my duty to fight for them."
At the WEF, Margalit made an emotional appeal to top politicians and representatives of influential organizations: They should do everything in their power to end the hostages' ordeal, which has been going on for over a hundred days. The United States, Qatar and everyone in Davos "must choose a side in the conflict".
Israeli President Isaac Herzog wants to send out the same message at the WEF. He will arrive on Wednesday with a delegation of relatives of hostages who are still in the hands of Hamas fighters.
Margalit, who has been released, did not make any political demands in Davos. "I'm not a politician or a diplomat," she said. "I can't tell Switzerland what the best way forward would be."
"Neighbors burned alive"
Margalit was abducted from her home by Hamas fighters in the community of Nir Oz on October 7. Terrorists killed 40 people from her village of 400 inhabitants - including her father - and abducted 71 others. They were friends, neighbors and acquaintances, said the trained pediatric nurse. "I saw how neighbors were burned alive."
She was released on November 30 during a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel brokered by the USA and Qatar. "I don't know why I was kidnapped and why I of all people was released." Margalit was living temporarily in a new apartment. "My house burned down. I have nothing left."
Her friend Noam Peri, whose 80-year-old father has been in Hamas captivity for over a hundred days, said that the WEF is a place where the future and progress are discussed.
If Hamas had not carried out the attack on Israel, she might be talking about artificial intelligence (AI) at the WEF. But now the Google employee is talking about the kidnappings and how they are a "step backwards" in the world. Meanwhile, she continues to fear for her father's life. He can hardly hear and is visually impaired. "He is an optimist. But I don't know how long he'll last."
Dramatic conditions in tunnels
Margalit described the dramatic conditions underground in Gaza. There was no daylight in the tunnels and hardly any fresh air. There was not always fresh water. The only toilet for her and her 20 fellow sufferers in the group was flushed once a day. She was given one bowl of rice and half a pita bread per day to eat.
The trained pediatric nurse cared for the suffering of her fellow hostages. "It gave me something to do." But there was hardly any medication.
Several relatives of hostages and the Israeli government recently criticized the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In their view, the aid organization was unable to provide the prisoners with the medication they needed. Margalit did not want to join this chorus: "I know that the Red Cross' ability to act in the Gaza Strip is limited. It is controlled by Hamas. Hamas is responsible for the kidnappings."
In addition to the conversations with her fellow hostages, Margalit also spoke to her kidnappers. "They ultimately wanted us all to leave Israel." Margalit did not want to say any more about her captors. "I fear for the lives of the remaining hostages if I say what I think about the hostage-takers."
©Keystone/SDA
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