One brave woman... against seven cowards: Astonishing moment hostage Amit Soussana fought Hamas gunmen as they abducted her on October 7 - almost eight weeks before she was freed alongside Mia Schem

This is the moment a fearless Israeli woman fought to free herself from seven Hamas gunmen as they dragged her back to Gaza during their ruthless October 7 attacks.

Amit Soussana, 40, found herself alone and surrounded by armed attackers with no way of defending herself as they marched her towards the border, having torn her from Kfar Aza kibbutz.

But any sense of bending to the will of her captors in the hope of receiving less brutal treatment was overridden by her staunch refusal to go quietly.

The astonishing footage, captured by a security camera according to Times of Israel, showed how one terrorist lifted the Israeli lawyer onto his back, only to tumble to the ground as she kicked and wriggled against him. 

Holding her down, the attackers can be seen slapping Amit as they attempted to wrap her in a shawl or blanket, but still she fought back, twisting and kicking. 

Eventually the captors were forced to bundle her into a car to get her back to Gaza as they were unable to drag her on foot - a testament to the sheer bravery and determination of Amit in the face of almost certain death.

Amit lived alone in Kfar Aza and was an easy target for Hamas attackers, who discovered her hiding in a safe room in her property.

The lawyer, who works for the law firm Luzzatto & Luzzatto, was ill at the time of her capture and was recovering at home with a fever when Hamas stormed her kibbutz. 

More than 1,200 Israelis were slaughtered on October 7 irrespective of whether they tried to flee or resist against their attackers, but Amit was one of several hostages who were dragged into Gaza and spent almost eight weeks days living in captivity.

But she was released by Hamas along with 21-year-old Mia Schem, who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival, last week just one day before the week-long truce between Israel and Hamas expired and hostilities resumed.

Footage of their release showed how they were bundled out of a car and handed over to Red Cross workers close to the Israel-Gaza border as a huge group of Palestinians surrounded them, jeering and chanting.   

Speaking on the morning of her return to Israel, relative Michael Cohen said: 'I was always hopeful she would come back but there was terrible tension. This has been a difficult, crazy time. I can't wait to give her a hug.'

Israel pressed on with its expanded ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip today, following the end of a seven-day truce last week.

Hamas militants from Gaza launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

In response, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and has carried out air strikes and a ground offensive that have killed around 15,900 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

During the truce, Hamas released 80 Israeli hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Twenty-five other captives, mostly Thais, were freed outside the scope of the deal.

But the Israeli army said 137 hostages were still being held in Gaza.