Former hostage Moran Stella Yanai shared in an interview on Sunday that her Hamas kidnappers demanded a ransom for her release and tried to push her to convert to Islam.
In an interview at an N12, former hostage Moran Stella, who was released on November 29 last year, said that during her captivity by Hamas terrorists, they demanded her father pay for her release, threatening to kill her if he refused, Stella told the interviewers.
Stella further shared that “One day, around midday, me and two other hostages sat in a room, prepared for any scenario that may arise in the adjacent room (where the terrorists were) when suddenly I heard ‘abuha abuha’ multiple times.”
Hearing the repeated phrase – which means “her father, her father” in Arabic - Stella said she began listening more carefully until one of her captures approached and started asking questions concerning her father.
She said her capture asked her, “Does your father love you? To which I replied ‘Of course, more than anything’. He then asked me ‘And what would he give in exchange for you?’ I asked him what he meant, and he replied, ‘How much money would he give in exchange for you?’”.
Stella then reiterated to the terrorist that her father would give anything for her return, N12 reported. Stella then continued, saying the terrorist interrogated her the entire day on the same subject, asking how much her father earned, and other socio-economic-related questions.
Captors' ransom and conversion demands
Realizing that her captors were speaking with the hostage’s parents, hence the ‘abuha abuha’ comments by the terrorists earlier and money-related questions that followed Stella told N12, she reiterated to her captors, “I emphasized to him that moment that my father would give anything and everything for me.”
Stella then shared with N12 that when she returned from captivity in Gaza, she asked her father whether her captors demanded a ransom for her release, to which he replied “Yes.”
She further said it is still uncertain whether the communication between her captors was to extort money from her family, or part of a psychological torture the terrorists inflicted on her family, N12 noted in their report, with Stella stating, “It is a part of their mind games, they are not playing just with us, but also with our families,” she further emphasized, “it does not end in our death or kidnapping, they continue to torture and abuse our families.”
“Almost daily one of them would enter the room, saying ‘Would be better for you to be a Muslim woman,’ and once the terrorist sent one of his comrades to get a head covering to put on me, and show me what it means to be a Muslim woman,” Stella further shared with N12.
Stella also said that occasionally her captors would bring a Quran to read verses to her, demanding she praised God, and saying, “If you would convert to Islam we will release you sooner,” she shared with N12, citing her captors.
“As a woman, my biggest fear is being sold. That someone with forcefully marry me and that I will have to convert to Islam,” Stella emphasized. She further stressed that the entire experience was traumatizing to her family.
Stella said that when her father began receiving the ransom messages, “He went into shock, he received a picture of his daughter (not one taken in captivity) and is told that if he didn't pay money within an hour, they would start killing us one by one. I try to imagine my father in this situation, being told that in an hour they will kill your daughter if you don't send money. I think about my father, and what goes through his mind - it could break his heart. My parents experienced trauma no less than I did.”