Her voice shaking with emotion, Meirav Leshem Gonen described to the UN Human Rights Council Wednesday the agony of listening over the phone as Hamas militants seized her daughter on October 7.
Her daughter, 23-year-old Romi Gonen, "was terrified, and I felt utterly helpless as I listened to her suffering", she said.
"Please help me hug my daughter again."
Her appeal came as the top UN rights body in Geneva convened to debate a scathing report holding Israel responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in its offensive in Gaza, launched in response to the October attack.
The report by the independent Commission of Inquiry noted a "widespread or systematic attack directed against the civilian population in Gaza".
It also found that Palestinian militants had committed war crimes, including in connection with Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack and the seizing of hostages.
It highlighted in particular the plight of women caught up in the attack, decrying that "women and women's bodies were used as victory trophies by male perpetrators".
Israel has been vehemently critical of the report, and Leshem Gonen herself charged that it "trivialises the severity of sexual violence experienced by women in captivity.
"I stand before you today not just as a mother, but also as a voice for women who have endured unimaginable suffering, whose pain is not acknowledged," she said.
"When women's bodies are used as political tools, when their dignity is set aside because they are not on the 'right side', it is a badge of shame for us all."
Leshem Gonen described the agony that she and other hostages' families feel.
Her daughter was fleeing by car from the Supernova music festival on October 7 when it was ambushed by Hamas fighters.
During the attack she phoned her mother, who tried to comfort her above the din of explosions.
"She was brutally dragged by her long, beautiful hair from the car, along the road," Leshem Gonen said, describing "hearing her helplessness and frustration without being able to help my baby".
"That was 257 days ago."
"We owe all hostages still held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza to do all in our power to release them immediately," she said.
"I owe it to Romi, and so does the international community."
Hamas's attack resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
The militants also seized 251 hostages. Of these, 116 remain in Gaza, although the army says 41 are dead.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 37,396 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
© Agence France-Presse
