“I Drank Rainwater to Survive”: Freed Hostage Naama Levy Recounts 477 Days in Captivity

Freed hostage Naama Levy shared harrowing details of her captivity during a rally held Saturday night at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv.

“In the early weeks of captivity, I was completely alone, just me and my guards,” Levy said. “We were constantly on the run. I lived in fear of death. One day, I had nothing left, not even water. Fortunately, it began to rain. My captors placed a pot outside the house where I was being held, and the rain filled it. I drank that water. It was enough to cook a pot of rice. That is what kept me going.”

Levy was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 from the Nahal Oz outpost and held in Gaza for 477 days. She described the fear and danger of airstrikes during her captivity.

“The bombings were the most terrifying part,” she said. “At first, you would hear the whistling sound and pray it would not fall on us. Then came the explosions, with a noise so intense it froze your entire body. The ground would shake. Each time, I thought it was the end. In one strike, part of the building where I was held collapsed. The wall I was leaning on remained standing. That saved my life.”

She continued, “That was my reality. And it is still the reality for those who remain in captivity. Right now, they are hearing those same whistling sounds and explosions. They are trembling in fear. They have nowhere to run. All they can do is cling to walls and pray, feeling utterly helpless.”

Levy concluded her remarks with a message of determination.

“I stand here free, but my heart is not whole,” she said. “Until the last hostage returns, we, the ones who came back, cannot truly feel that we have returned. We cannot begin to heal. There is no victory without the return of every hostage. Thank you for coming. We will keep fighting until they all come home.”