‘She was asking how we are’: Stepmother held hostage by Hamas and released speaks to local family
ARDMORE, Pa. - A woman whose family lives in Ardmore is among the 12 hostages released by Hamas Tuesday.
She’s 84-year-old Ditza Heiman.
Her stepson told FOX 29 in October that the family learned she was taken hostage after she appeared in a Hamas propaganda video online.
He calls Heiman the core of their family.
In October, Amichai Shdaimah explained his stepmother was living in a small village in Israel when, on October 7th, "She got a red alert at 6:15, 6:30 in the morning. We assume she got out of bed and walked to a bomb shelter which is attached to her home."
Ardmore family desperate for answers as stepmother taken hostage by Hamas terrorists in Israel
One family on the Main Line is desperate for answers as their mother was taken as a hostage by Hamas terrorists. She was seen in a Hamas propaganda video being taken out of her home.
He says his family in Israel got a hold of her by phone, "She was in a safe room. She was okay. Around 10 a.m., they lost contact."
Israeli officials announced the release of 10 people Tuesday, which was a part of a negotiated ceasefire designed to get hostages out of Hamas control safely and to deliver aid to civilians in Gaza.
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Video shows Ditza being released, along with 11 other people. She was wheeled to an ambulance, with her family in Montgomery County watching it unfold on the news.
Shdaimah said, "October 7th, when she was kidnapped, we had no information. We saw her for the first time on tv, on live tv. We watched every step."
A said Ditza called from a hospital in Tel Aviv Tuesday, where she was taken to be checked out. "She looks great. She asked if we would come visit. She's gonna make us chicken soup."
Her grandson couldn't believe she was on the other end of the phone.
"I just heard her voice and I don't even…a wave of emotions, everything at the same time," Elad Shdaimah said. "She's just talking to us like it's another conversation, like it's normal. She just removed the gravity of the situation like it was nothing."
Her family says, as per usual, Ditza was worried about everyone else.
"She was basically asking how we are doing. How are the kids? Where are they? She missed everybody. It is very emotional to see her back and in such good spirits," Amichai said.
And, while they are happy she is safe, they still worry for the other hostages being held by Hamas. "The main message we want to give is it is not over. Still need to stay focused on getting them out."