More than a year after her release from Hamas captivity, Amit Soussana details how IDF lookout soldier Liri Albag, who was just freed last Saturday in the latest hostage deal, helped save her life during their time in captivity. Albag had remained in Gaza after being left out of previous exchange deals.
Speaking on Israel's Channel 12 investigative program "Uvda" (Fact) in her first Israeli media interview, Soussana recounts the harrowing moments of her capture, her widely circulated struggle against the terrorists, and her traumatic time in captivity.
"With drones overhead, I started thrashing around, deliberately stumbling - I wanted them to know 'you don't scare me, I won't go without a fight,'" Soussana revealed, describing how Albag's courage in confronting their captor proved lifesaving. "The terrorist told me 'You have 40 minutes to tell me the truth or I'll kill you.' But Liri stood up to him with such strength. She was pure strength. I felt weak next to her - she's extraordinary. I told her 'You saved my life.'"
In a powerful address to the UN last October, Soussana bravely detailed the sexual assault she endured while in captivity. "I was kept alone, my ankles bound with metal chains. I couldn't move and had to request permission even to use the bathroom," she told the international audience.
"A Hamas terrorist guarding me sexually assaulted me. He forced me into the shower at gunpoint. His breathing was heavy, his look predatory and monstrous. I knew exactly what he planned to do but was powerless to stop it. I had no one to comfort me and had to 'behave nicely' toward someone who had just sexually assaulted me in the most horrific way."
Soussana is not the only person to comment on Albag's incredible bravery: After she was freed from captivity, it came out that she was the group leader and that she spoke to the Hamas captors on behalf of her fellow IDF lookouts.
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