Danielle Aloni and her daughter 5-year-old Emilia were held hostage by the Palestinian group Hamas for 49 days in besieged Gaza.
The Israeli mother and daughter were released on November 24 as part of a temporary ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel and reunited with their families.
Before they left Gaza, Danielle Aloni wrote a “thank you” letter to Hamas saying, “I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your extraordinary humanity shown towards my daughter, Emilia.”
Qassam Brigades, which is the armed wing of Hamas, posted the letter on its official Telegram account on November 27.
The letter was originally written in Hebrew and accompanied by an Arabic translation, along with a picture of the Israeli mother and her daughter.
In her handwritten letter in Hebrew, Danielle said: “She (Emilia) acknowledges feeling like all of you are her friends, not just friends, but truly beloved and good”.
Aloni acknowledged the good care given to hostages in Gaza and wrote: “Thank you for the many hours you spent as caregivers.”
She further stated her daughter has not only bonded with Hamas but also felt like a queen.
“Children should not be in captivity, but thanks to you and other kind people we met along the way, my daughter felt like a queen in Gaza,” she said.
“In the long journey we have been on, we have not met anyone who has not been kind to her, you have treated her with kindness and compassion.”
Aloni ended her letter with compassion for Hamas, stating, “I will remember your kind behavior shown in spite of the difficult situation you faced and the severe losses you suffered here in Gaza.”
“I wish in this world we could truly be good friends,” she wrote and added her well wishes to Gazans “I wish you all health and well-being… health and love to you and your families’ children.”
Danielle and Emilia Aloni were among 24 Israeli hostages released by Hamas on November 24. They were visiting Danielle’s sister and her family at Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel before being taken hostage.
