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Former hostage Mia Schem is engaged one year after her release

Mia Schem was one of 117 hostages who were released in November 2023 in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, coinciding with a week-long pause in fighting.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

On Thursday, former hostage Mia Schem is engaged to be married to Yinon Hason just one year after she was released from captivity.

Mia Schem was one of 117 hostages who were released in November 2023 in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, coinciding with a week-long pause in fighting.

Terrorists abducted her from the Nova Music Festival on October 7th, 2023.

Mia Schem was shot in the arm while trying to flee Hamas terrorists on October 7th after seeing that they set her car on fire.

“It was a split-second decision, whether to stay put and burn to death or go with him,” she said.

Mia was thrown onto the back of a pickup truck and was given a makeshift splint.

In Gaza, a veterinarian operated on her arm with no anesthetic and told her that she was going to die a hostage.

Schem described Gaza civilians she encountered in captivity as “terrorists” who abetted in her abuse.

“I went through a Holocaust,” Schem said. “Everyone over there is a terrorist.”

“It was important for me to reflect on the true situation of the people living in Gaza – who they are, and what I went through there.”

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“These are families under Hamas. In retrospect, I suddenly realized that I was with a family. Suddenly, I started asking myself why I was in a family’s house? Why are there children here? Why is there a woman here?”

Regarding the terrorist guarding her Mia Schem said, “His wife was outside the room with the children,” she said. “That was the only reason he didn’t rape me.”

The dual French and Israeli citizen described being starved and bullied by the terrorist’s family as the guard didn’t take his eyes off of her as she sat in a darkened room.

Mia Schem described the ordeal, “I (was) closed in a dark room, not allowed to talk, not allowed to be seen, to be heard, hidden.”

She added, “There is a terrorist looking at you 24/7, looking.”

Mia Schem told of her fear of being raped and burst into tears.

“There is fear of being raped, there is fear of dying.”

She continued, “His wife hated the fact that he and I were in the same room. You feel like you want a hug, you know, woman to woman, to break down a bit.”

“That’s all you had there. But she was so mean, she had such mean eyes.”