An Israeli mother described the horrifying moment Hamas set her family’s home on fire, prompting her to cover her young daughter in a blanket and tell her, “I’m sorry, we’re going to die.”

Danielle Aloni, 44, and her 6-year-old daughter, Emilia, were in Kibbutz Nir Oz visiting her sister Sharon Aloni Cunio when Hamas launched its surprise Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Hamas set her family’s home on fire, trapping Sharon, her 3-year-old daughter, Emma, Danielle and Emilia in a room that was quickly filling with smoke.

At the same time, Sharon’s husband was captured alongside Emma’s twin sister, Yuli.

As Sharon messaged the family saying they wouldn’t make it out alive, Danielle recalls covering Emilia with a blanket and holding her in her arms.

“I hugged her tightly and told her, ‘I’m sorry, we’re going to die,'” the mother recalled in an interview on Israeli broadcast television, according to the Times of Israel.

The sisters concluded that it would be easier, for the sake of the children, to have a quick death — and opted to open a window to face Hamas’ guns instead of burning alive.

In a voice message to her family, Danielle explained the situation, saying, “They are burning our home, terrorists have come in, they tried to shoot us. We are being burned in the home. If we go out, they will shoot us.”

“One way or the other, we will die. That’s it, that’s it, this is our end,” Danielle said.

Danielle and Sharon then opened the window of their shelter and “waited for the volley of shots.”

Instead, the group of terrorists waiting outside indicated they should come out and start walking. Eventually, they separated Sharon from the group, leaving Danielle with her daughter and niece.

Danielle described their captors as “drunk with joy” as they took the three to Gaza.

Once in Gaza, a terrorist pulled Emma away from Danielle, who pleaded with them in Arabic not to take her away.

“If I die here, then my daughter [Emilia] will also die,” she recalled thinking to herself, describing the extreme guilt of not being able to guard her niece. “I couldn’t protect the girl [Emma], a girl of 3 years and 3 months.”

While captive, Danielle convinced Emilia they were safe from the bombs underground and created a game involving imaginary gifts to keep her spirits up.

When they were released, Emilia was given all of the imaginary gifts she chose, Danielle said. “She got more than 49 presents.”

Each day, Danielle prayed, trying to keep strong and prevent Emilia from becoming depressed even though she admitted she did not think they would “see the light of day.”

“As a mother, you gather strengths that were not certain beforehand,” Danielle said. “You say to yourself, ‘I will do everything, everything for my girl to get through this trauma in the smoothest way.’ And then you do everything.”

The mother and daughter were eventually released on Nov. 24 following treatment at a hospital.

Emilia is suffering from serious post-traumatic issues and is scared of noises similar to rockets and air raid sirens. Her mother said she no longer feels safe even in their secure room as she fears “the bad people” will come back to take her away.

She also now fears hearing a foreign language, Danielle said.

When asked how she was coping, Danielle responded, “I am here, but my heart is there. Our family is not complete.”

Danielle’s sister Sharon and her 3-year-old twin daughters, Yuli and Emma, were released on Nov. 27, while her sister’s husband, David Cunio, is still captive in Gaza.