'Your responsibility to bring back all the hostages now,' released hostage tells UN delegation in Israel

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan led a UN delegation on Wednesday to meet with former Israeli hostages Maya and Itai Regev in Israel. 

The brother and sister, along with their father Ilan, provided the UN ambassadors with a detailed picture of the experiences they faced on Oct. 7 and the harrowing weeks that followed.

Last month, Erdan accused the Red Cross of trying to cover up Hamas’ severe war crimes committed against countless Israeli civilians. He took the initiative to organize a meeting in Israel for UN delegation members to meet the Regevs in person and listen to their testimonies.

Maya and Itai recounted the horrors of their experience on Oct. 7, when they were kidnapped into Gaza by Hamas terrorists from the Nova Music Festival they were attending on Kibbutz Re'im.

They explained that while in Gaza, the terrorists separated them from each other, humiliated, mocked and abused them for more than 50 days during their captivity in the coastal enclave. Twenty-one-year-old Maya described how the terrorists tore her clothing and struck her injured leg, physically abusing her. She also said the terrorists psychologically tortured her, mocking and laughing at her and threatening to kill her every day.

"Hamas terrorists tore my clothes and stripped away my identity and name," she said. "The captor assigned to me threatened daily that if the IDF tried to rescue me, he would shoot me immediately, not wanting to die alone," she said.

Petitioning for the remaining 132 hostages still in Gaza, Maya urged the delegation: "It is your responsibility to bring back all the hostages now. Their time is running out."

On October 7, Hamas terrorists shot Maya and Itai Regev as they fled the musical festival at Kibbutz Re'im, wounding Maya’s leg. Maya recounted their story in an interview with Israeli Channel 12 news after they were released in November.

The siblings and their friend, Omer Shem Tov were thrown into a pickup truck and taken to a house in Gaza where they were separated and remained under orders not to make a sound, the 21-year-old said.

Maya begged the terrorists to let her younger brother Itai join her while the bandages on her leg were re-dressed.

"Itai and Omer walk in. And they began removing the bandages. And I'm screaming and Omer is holding my hand and covering my mouth," Maya tearfully recalled. Over the next several days, her injury became more severe and she was eventually snuck into a Gaza hospital where she underwent surgery. Her foot was re-attached at an unnatural angle.

While at the hospital, Maya said she was kept near another wounded Israeli hostage, Guy Iluz. The two took solace in each other, talking about what they would do if they returned home. But Iluz died in the hospital.

"At first I refused to believe. Before they took him away I said I have to see, like, that it's really him. I have the duty to go speak to his family when this is over. I'm the only person who knew what really happened to him."

Itai told the news station how he and Omer were taken to a different house and forced to dress in hijabs like Muslim women so they wouldn't be recognized as they walked in the dark of night.

While in the hospital, Maya wrote her brother and Omer a note and asked for it to be delivered to them. She argued with her captors, demanding that she hear back.

Itai received the note from his sister.

"They came one time with a note, a note from Maya, in which she wrote me where she is, what she is going through. She said she loves me, asked me to stay strong, for the family, for everyone," he said.

Maya received a note back from her brother.

"They brought me a note that they (Itai and Omer) wrote me, and I knew it was really from them because I recognized the handwriting and my brother called me by my nickname," Maya said.

"It was a light, a small light in all the darkness, that I hear from my little brother and from Omer, that I understand they are ok."

The three continued writing and encouraging one another.

"Those notes gave so much strength, like in the small moment that I feel a bit like I am diving into bad thoughts, I just held Maya's note, read it like ten times, and it would give me strength," Itai said.

Itai and Maya were both released during the week-long ceasefire in November, however, at some point, Omer was separated from Itai and remains in Gaza.

Since their release, Maya and Itai have been pleading for the release of their friend and all the remaining hostages.

"Even though Maya and I are home, Omer is still there," Itai said.

Speaking about the details of his release, Itai said, "If I had known I was going home, I can tell you that probably I wouldn't agree to leave without Omer.”