Mia Schem, a tattoo artist from Israel, remains deeply affected three years after she was abducted during the attack on the Nova music festival near the Gaza border on October 7, 2023. Held hostage for 55 days by Hamas militants, Schem is one of 251 people seized in what became one of the deadliest days for Jewish civilians since the Holocaust, with over 1,000 lives lost in the broader assault.
The Nova festival, an open-air dance event, was abruptly shattered by rocket fire and an armed incursion by Hamas at dawn. Amid the chaos, 378 festivalgoers were killed and 44 were taken captive. Schem recalls the moment the rockets began, forcing her and her friend Elia Toledano to flee. Toledano was later found dead in Gaza, believed to have died in an air strike during the ensuing conflict.
Schem’s recollection of that day is fragmented, marked by trauma and memory gaps. She describes an intense will to survive amid terror and violence, including witnessing atrocities committed by the militants. Among the reports surrounding the attack are claims of sexual violence by Hamas fighters; a United Nations report noted there were “reasonable grounds” to believe such acts, including rape and desecration of bodies, took place. Schem herself recounted witnessing militants raping victims.
After attempting to escape by car, Schem was shot in the arm at close range by a Hamas gunman. When fleeing on foot, her friend was captured, and she played dead to avoid being taken. She was later forced into a car by armed men and taken across the border into Gaza. Following surgery on her injured arm in a hospital, performed without anesthetic, she was moved to a family home where her captor remained close, and where she endured further psychological abuse and deprivation.
The man responsible for Schem’s abduction, Ibrahim Abu Sakkar, was killed in an Israeli air strike. Despite her survival, Schem struggles with the ongoing emotional aftermath. She described how certain triggers, such as the arrival of October each year, bring back overwhelming trauma. She explained that while her physical body returned to Israel, her mental and emotional recovery remains incomplete, with recurring feelings of terror and pain.
Schem expressed a desire to distance herself from public memorials and the constant reminders of the attack. Yet, she emphasized her determination to continue living despite the lasting impact the ordeal has had on her life.