“My Body Is Present, But My Soul Resides in the Tunnels” – One America News Network
OAN Staff Gabriella Sable
11:20 AM – Tuesday, February 4, 2025
Although Ilana Gritzewsky has been released by Hamas, she struggles to move forward as her boyfriend and friends remain trapped in the tunnels of Gaza.
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“My body’s here, but my soul is stuck in the tunnels. I can’t go on. My boyfriend is there, my friends are there,” Gritzewsky shared with One America News.
Gritzewsky and her boyfriend Matan Zanguaker were abducted by Hamas on October 7th, 2023, from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
After a series of missile strikes, Gritzewsky received a WhatsApp alert about the Hamas incursion into Kibbutz.
“They barged into our home, smashing and shooting everything in sight. Matan was trying to keep the door closed,” she recounted. “Then, they began shooting at the door, and in that terrifying moment, my boyfriend yelled for me to open the window, check outside, and jump. He said he would follow me.”
“So that’s what I did,” Gritzewsky said. “I jumped, and we both ran in different directions. At that point, I lost contact with Matan. I had no idea what happened to him.”
Gritzewsky spotted a blanket on the ground near her neighbor’s home and draped it over herself, hiding behind a closet. All she could do was pray in that moment.
“I prayed to God for help,” Gritzewsky said. “But there was no answer. I could hear the terrorists getting closer, their footsteps crunching on the leaves.”
“They grabbed me by the hair,” Gritzewsky added. “They kicked me, threw me to the ground, pulled me up, and slammed me against the wall, assaulting me relentlessly.”
They continued the assault until she was thrown onto the back of a motorcycle for transport to a different location.
Throughout the ride, the attackers continued to beat her.
“They burned my leg with the motorcycle,” Gritzewsky explained. “I suffered a broken hip and jaw, and I lost hearing in one ear due to a grenade explosion. When they started to grope me, I lost consciousness from the pain.”
Gritzewsky regained consciousness in a dimly lit room, where the assailants sprayed perfume into her nostrils.
“They sprayed perfume in my face to wake me up and kicked me,” said Gritzewsky. “Once I was conscious, they threw me a hijab and a skirt, forcing me to dress like an Arab so they could move me to another location.”
Upon reaching the new location, she was told by the terrorists that this would be her new life.
“I entered a home filled with terrorists, who welcomed me by saying, ‘Welcome to your new life,’” Gritzewsky recounted.
“They said they thought I was beautiful and that I would stay there, marry them, and build a family, never allowed to leave.”
Gritzewsky was released during a brief ceasefire in November 2023 from a tunnel beneath Gaza. She often wonders why she was freed while 76 others remain hostages.
“Why was it me and not them? That question haunts me,” Gritzewsky expressed. “I can’t understand why I get to escape while others suffer. Why was I chosen? Why am I here alone?”
For Gritzewsky, the only way to cope is to amplify her voice and advocate for her boyfriend and the other captives.
“The only thing on my mind is how to bring them all home. How do I get my partner back so we can start our family? That’s all I can think about,” Gritzewsky explained.
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