Kipnis family
On October 7th, nine-year-old Emily Hand was staying at her friend Hila Rotem-Shoshani’s home. When the red alerts sounded, she and Hila took shelter with Hila’s mother, Raya. By midday, terrorists had stormed the house, abducting all three to Gaza. After fifty days in captivity, Hila and Emily were freed, followed by Raya four days later.
Hila, Emily and Raya
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On Saturday morning, the Rotem-Shoshani household in Be’eri was home to three individuals: Raya, her daughter Hila, and Hila’s friend, Emily Hand, who had spent the night at the Rotem-Shoshani's. Emily is the youngest daughter of Thomas (Tom) Hand, who had emigrated from Ireland to Israel three decades earlier. Her mother succumbed to cancer when she was just two years old. In her absence, Thomas’s first wife, Narkis Hand, took Emily under her wing, raising her as her own and making her an integral part of the family. As the alarms echo through the kibbutz, Raya, Hila, and Emily rush to the safe room
The residents of the kibbutz receive an alert warning of terrorist infiltration and are instructed to secure themselves inside their safe rooms. As Hila follows updates on social media, she comes to the chilling realization that terrorists have already infiltrated the surrounding communities
Raya corresponds with two family members—her brother, Yair Rotem, and her cousin, Reuven—informing them that Hila is distressed and that Emily is with them at home
As the gunfire grows louder, Raya messages Reuven: "It's starting to get terrifying." She reports that terrorists are setting homes ablaze and that Hila and Emily fully grasp the danger outside, making it nearly impossible to soothe them. Around 11:00 AM, she speaks with Hila’s father, Rami Shoshani
Six terrorists storm into the house, shouting in Arabic as they force their way into the safe room. Brandishing knives and firearms, they threaten the three, warning that any resistance will mean death. One of the terrorists seizes Raya by her shirt and, in Arabic, orders her: "You—go to Gaza."
Raya messages her brother, Yair, informing him that terrorists have breached her home. Just before one of the terrorists seizes her phone, she manages to write to him that she is being kidnapped. The terrorists then force Raya, Hila, and Emily outside to the home of 93-year-old Eli Karsenti, a neighboring kibbutz resident. They are forced into his safe room, where Eli and his caregiver are already sheltering. Later that day, the terrorists set Raya and Hila’s house ablaze
Five terrorists force Raya, Hila, and Emily out of Eli’s safe room, forcing them into a vehicle and abducting them to Gaza. During the journey, they are told they will be held as prisoners. Meanwhile, the terrorists drag Eli Karsenti and his caregiver into his yard. Eli, who had been a prisoner of war in Egypt during the Yom Kippur War, tells them he has already endured captivity and refuses to go with them. The terrorists abandon him, allowing him and his caregiver to find refuge in another house within the kibbutz Eli survives, but that same day, the terrorists murder his ex-wife, Shoshana Kirsanti, his daughter, Maina Hershkovitz, and her husband, Noah Hershkovitz. They also set his house ablaze.
Raya, Hila and Emily arrive in Gaza, where the terrorists transfer them to another vehicle before taking them to a residential house. There, they are held under armed guard
The families desperately attempt to locate Raya and the two girls, but all efforts prove futile
The kibbutz informs the family that Emily and Hila are believed to be dead. Yair, Raya’s brother and Hila’s uncle, refuses to accept the news, as it has not been officially confirmed by the authorities. At this stage, Raya’s condition remains unknown
Narkis Hand’s funeral is held at the cemetery in Kibbutz Revivim. Thomas’s ex-wife, who had embraced Emily as her daughter, was murdered on October 7th
Narkis Hand
The Rotem-Shoshani and Hand families receive official confirmation that Raya, Hila, and Emily have been abducted from the kibbutz and are being held hostage by Hamas
Hila Rotem and Emily Hand are freed from Hamas captivity after 50 days. Two days before their release, the terrorists separate Hila from her mother, Raya, forcing her to return alone. In doing so, Hamas violates the agreement prohibiting the separation of mothers from their children in captivity. Upon their return to Israel, Hila is welcomed by her father, Rami, and her uncle, Yair, while Thomas welcomes Emily. Following medical examinations, Emily and her father relocate to live with relatives in Herzliya
Four days after her daughter’s release, Raya Rotem is freed from Hamas captivity
About a month after their release, Raya, Hila, Emily, and Thomas join evicted fellow kibbutz members at a hotel by the Dead Sea
Together with many fellow kibbutz members, the families relocate to Kibbutz Hatzerim
