Niva Wenkert, the mother of Omer Wenkert, spoke on Wednesday morning about the harrowing testimony her son gave regarding his time in captivity in Gaza. “Throughout the entire ordeal, I told myself that I trust my son,” Niva said in an interview with Ynet studio. The mother emphasized, in light of the 59 hostages still left behind, “We are continuing the fight, now also in the name of Omer, who is joining us.”
Omer shared, for the first time Tuesday night, details about his long period of captivity, describing 505 days in Gaza during which he endured constant physical abuse, including starvation and beatings by the captors. However, he stressed that the greatest fear “wasn’t death, but the thought of becoming like Ron Arad, or being stuck in this situation for another 15 or 20 years.”
In an extensive interview with Keshet Channel 12 News, Omer recounted the abduction from the Nova Festival near Reim, which he had attended spontaneously with his girlfriend Kim Damti, who was murdered by the attackers. He testified that, even after realizing that terrorists had infiltrated the area, he still believed that “any moment, IDF would come and neutralize them.” An hour after the massacre began, terrorists reached the shelter where Omer was hiding with other festivalgoers near the Reim junction and began throwing grenades inside. “Suddenly, a woman screamed into her phone, ‘They’re killing us, they’re burning us.’ That might have been the hardest thing I heard while in the shelter.”
A particularly difficult moment came on his birthday when a terrorist woke him and attacked him brutally. “I got hit on the head with a metal rod — that was my birthday present. The terrorist woke me up in complete frenzy and with insane aggression. He humiliated me, hit me, but even as he did that, I looked him in the eyes. After he left, I completely broke down and decided to bless myself for my birthday, right at that moment, to wish that I wouldn’t get beaten on my next birthday. Just something small — not even to go home.”
On the day of his release, Omer shared, “Omer Shem Tov or Eliyahu Cohen began singing ‘Shir Lama’alot’ [a Hebrew psalm], and we found ourselves singing together, from the heart. The moment I saw the Red Cross, it was the biggest relief imaginable.” Omer explained that the psychological terror show staged by Hamas during his release, where he was paraded in public, “didn’t humiliate me.” He described, “For me, that was the victory. I finished the struggle. I fought, and I won. I was smiling from ear to ear. The first thing I told my mother was that I defeated captivity. I meant it — I overcame it completely.”
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The biggest fear, Omer revealed, was actually not about the possibility of being killed by his captors at any given moment, but rather the horrifying prospect of becoming the next Ron Arad (an Israeli Air Force weapon systems officer who has officially been classified as missing in action since October 1986 after falling in captivity in Lebanon.)
Omer returned to his home in Gedera, where he was warmly welcomed by the residents of the town.
“The heart swells with pride, love, and gratitude,” said his mother, Niva, on Wednesday morning. “The fact that Omer is home is nothing short of a miracle. I obviously didn’t trust those holding him, and yet I was very surprised. You’ve heard his testimony — captivity is hell underground. Rats wouldn’t survive in such conditions. Physical, verbal and mental violence, with constant, immediate danger to life, 24/7, for such a long time. Captivity brings out superhuman strength in a person that helps them survive the worst of all.”
Niva added that, since Omer’s return, she finds herself “staring at him more. I just find myself looking at him constantly and touching him more. He’s my son, and we know that there will be moments when he’ll have setbacks, and we’re prepared for that. For now, he’s going out of the house a bit, meeting friends. There’s also rehabilitation at Rabin Medical Center."
"He’s rediscovering the world,” she concluded.