Nurit Cooper, 79, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, who was released from Hamas captivity last week along with Yocheved Lifshitz, is slowly recovering and digesting the 17 days she endured in Gaza. While staying in her daughter's home in a kibbutz in the northern Negev, Cooper is beginning to grasp the magnitude of the tragedy that occurred on October 7, in all the Gaza border communities and specifically in the kibbutz where she had resided.
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Since her return from captivity, Cooper spends most of her time with her family, especially her beloved grandchildren, and has refrained from sharing her experiences publicly. She is also being updated on the number of hostages in the Gaza Strip, including her husband, Amiram Cooper, 84. "The hostages must be brought back alive," she told her family. "I want all families to rejoice as mine did."
Rotem Cooper, Nurit's son who resides in the United States, spoke with Ynet about his mother's condition since being returned from Gaza.
"Mom is okay, and that's the most important thing. It's been a week already. Physically, she has been getting stronger. She has a fracture in her left shoulder from the abduction from her home, which was extremely brutal. They shot at the main door and made holes in it. They forcibly took her and my father out. She is now at my sister Ravit's house. She is readjusting. I also have a younger brother who recently built his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, and he, like all residents of the Gaza periphery, is leaving his house," according to Rotem Cooper
He added that his mother is going through a process he described as "not simple at all."
"She remembers details, but she doesn't always share them. She prefers to focus on the future. My father is still captive, and she worries about him greatly. They were both abducted and held in the same room underground, along with five other kibbutz members. My father probably understood that they released my mom and Yochved. The entire ordeal is very traumatic for her because the abduction was extremely violent," he explained.
"Throughout their captivity, they couldn't grasp whether it was day or night," he said. "Now she certainly sees and understands what's happening around her. We've told her who was killed and who's still captive. She had to learn about the extent of the tragedy. She's still in a digestion process. Every day is another small step forward, but there's still a long way to go."
He shared that it was very challenging for her to discover that "a quarter of the Nir Oz community was abducted or killed. The main focus should be on how to bring back young children, the elderly, and all the other captives."
He says his mother believes that "the entire conversation should revolve around the issue of the captives because she knows better than anyone what they are going through. We know that the Israeli captives are alive, and this gives her some encouragement for the road ahead. It must be the top priority."