My name is Noga Weiss. I’m 18 years old. I survived 50 days as a Hamas hostage in Gaza. My father, Ilan Weiss, was murdered on Oct. 7, 2023, while defending our home in Kibbutz Be’eri. His body was taken into Gaza and is still being held there.

I came back. He never had the chance. And until those held by Hamas come home, both the living and the dead, none of us are truly free.

On the morning of Oct. 7, we awoke to sirens, and my father, deputy commander of our kibbutz emergency team, left to protect the community he loved. “I’ll be back soon,” he told us. He never returned.

Terrorists stormed our home. I watched them take my mother. Then I heard gunshots from outside. I was just a teenager, hiding under the bed, holding my breath, trying not to move. Then they lit the house on fire. Smoke poured into the room. I couldn’t breathe. I made a decision no young woman should ever have to make: I chose to run, even if it meant being shot.

I was caught, tied up, dragged past the lifeless bodies of my neighbors, and then taken to Gaza.

That moment marked the beginning of 50 days in hell —........

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