October 7 · Personal story
Norlin Aguji Bobadila
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Friends’ apartment in Kibbutz Nirim
Current outcome
Released alive · November 28, 2023
Released during the ceasefire hostage exchange after 53 days in captivity.
01
A garden in Yehud, friends in Nirim
Noralin Aguji Bobadila, known in reports as Noralin “Nataly” Babadila, was born in the Philippines and lived in Yehud with her partner Gideon Babani. She grew flowers and succulents in the garden of their building. For about two years, she and Gideon visited close friends in Kibbutz Nirim almost every week: Tess, who was also born in the Philippines, Tess’s Israeli husband Doron Meir, and their daughters Shelly and Mor. On October 7, they planned a day together and a barbecue. They woke early and were already awake when sirens and gunfire began.
02
Smoke, escape, and capture
At the friends’ youth-housing apartment in Nirim, Norlin heard shots and called Gideon into the safe room. He went outside to see what was happening; she heard two shots and then their car explode. When the apartment caught fire, its safe-room door was not closed and smoke entered. Norlin climbed through the safe-room window and landed among armed captors. She showed her cross necklace and told them she was Filipino and not Israeli, asking them not to kill her. They put her in a small truck with bodies of murdered Israelis and drove her to Gaza. Gideon was killed in Nirim.
03
Two places, two phases
For the first 23 days, Norlin was held in an apartment with Karina Angel and Irena Tati. She described darkness without electricity, almost no food, foul-smelling water, no showers, and fear each time the floor shook from bombardment. After 23 days in the apartment, she and the other women were moved to a separate facility at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. There, Norlin met Sharon and David Cunio, their twin daughters Emma and Yuli, and other hostages. She helped care for the girls when Sharon needed rest. She later recalled the girls crying when David was separated from them shortly before Sharon and the twins were released.
04
Release after 53 days
Noralin was released on November 28, 2023, in the hostage exchange during the ceasefire, after 53 days in captivity. On the journey out, she feared the group surrounding their car might kill them. At the Rafah checkpoint, seeing soldiers let her breathe normally again. At the hospital, her brother told her Gideon had been murdered on October 7.
05
Staying close to Gideon
After learning what happened to Gideon, Noralin decided to stay in Israel. She said she had not considered leaving because she did not want to leave him behind. She spoke to him every day, asking him to look after her and help her from above. Tess, her friend from the Philippines, had also lost her husband and daughter in the attack. The two women supported each other in their grief.