Uri Magidish, the first to be rescued from captivity in the Gaza Strip, revealed this evening (Wednesday) on the program "Uvda" on Channel 12, the personal story behind the hardships of captivity - and the faith that never let her go for a moment.
""I had faith that God was by my side, that he was watching over me and was going to get me out of here," Magidish said.
According to her, she repeatedly looked for signs from heaven: "I would ask a question, that if I had to get out of here - there would be a boom. And then there was a boom. There were all kinds of signs.".
Another time, she asked God to see a butterfly as a sign from heaven. "Suddenly, one of the hunters brought out a toy in the shape of a very colorful butterfly. I started smiling, I had stitches on my face - but I felt that he was with me.".
On her third Saturday in captivity, IDF bombs hit the house where she was being held.
""The ceiling collapsed on us and the whole house was on fire. One of the prisoners died at that moment and I didn't even feel that I was injured." She would only discover later that she had a fractured skull. And now the only surviving terrorist is fleeing the apartment with her. They arrive at a nearby hospital. "And it's like I'm starting to lose my balance, the whole room is spinning. One of the doctors speaks to me in English and tells me that they're going to sew up my head and face now," she recalled.
""They start cleaning the area around my mouth and they don't numb the area. It was indescribable pain, I've never felt pain like that. And I'm trying to hold onto something, I have nothing to hold onto, everyone is throwing my hands away, they're telling me to be quiet, they're telling me not to scream.".
During the rescue, Magidish is asleep. "There's an exchange of fire outside, and then when I realize something is happening, I go behind the refrigerator and I cringe. I scream in Hebrew, I don't know why, but it's as if I felt like I didn't know, that it was a rescue.".
In front of her stood a fighter who looked completely local, without any identifying marks. "It was a conflict - they could have kidnapped me again, at this level. It could have been." As they began to drive away, Magidish heard the fighter's words in Hebrew. "I remember exchanging glances with him and seeing how excited he was.
"After I returned and acclimatized a bit, I realized that for the people who rescued me, it was also like finally breathing after such a period.".
The faces of the people who rescued her cannot be shown, nor can she yet tell all the details of everything that happened there, but she already knows that there are moments from there that will be etched in her forever.
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