TEL AVIV (Dagbladet): – I wasn’t at home, I was outside and couldn’t protect them, so… it’s sad.
The entire family of Avihai Brodutch (42) – his wife Hagar (40) and children Oria (4), Yuval (8) and Ofry (10) are missing after the attack on Kibbutz Kfar Aza on 7 October. Neighbors saw them and a little neighbor girl being taken away by Hamas fighters – now they are apparently among the 220 or so hostages in Gaza.
ONE GOAL: Avihai Brodutch (42) has one goal: to get his wife and children (in the background) back home. Photo: Magnus Paus / Dagbladet Show more
– The girl next door came running to them. Her parents had been killed and she was looking for someone who could protect her, explains Avihai.
Taken in the panic room
Hagar and the children managed to get into the family’s panic room. Nevertheless, they were caught.
– Around 11 o’clock I received a message from my wife: “Someone is coming in.” And I assume that was when someone got in and took them hostage, and took them all the way to Gaza, says the father of the family.
IN GAZA: Avihai’s family was taken out of their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza and taken to Gaza. view more
Now more than three weeks have passed since the terrible incident, and the hostages have still not been found. Meanwhile, the pressure on the Israeli government is increasing – not least from Avihai and other relatives who have almost set up camp outside the Israeli Defense Headquarters in Tel Aviv.
– Now I have been waiting for them for 23 days. Behind me is the Ministry of Defence, where they make all the decisions. I am here to make sure that they make the right decisions, so that the family comes back home to me, says the 42-year-old.
First out
The fence outside the very well-fortified bastion is wallpapered with pictures of the missing. Avihai was the first to start demonstrating there, and since then the movement has grown exponentially and gained significant attention.
MASS MOVEMENT: After Avihai first sat down outside the Israeli Defense Ministry, many more have arrived, and posters of the missing now cover the entire fence at the site. Photo: Magnus Paus / Dagbladet Show more
– A week after all this happened, I just felt helpless and without hope. I woke up at 2 am and took the dog with me – who had been rescued the day before – and came here, he says.
– I took a chair and made a sign that said: “My family is in Gaza”, and just sat here in front of the ministry. So that anyone who entered would know what is the right thing to do – to bring my family back to me, bring all the families back home.
The 42-year-old emphasizes:
– Killed by an Israeli settler
– They shouldn’t make the wrong decisions, they should make the right decisions.
Want to switch
Avihai’s father Samuel (75) is clear about what he thinks is the right thing to do for Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu’s government. The grandfather is sitting on a garden chair in front of the fence with a very placard with the message:
«Bibi, it is in your hands. All for all.”
– ALL FOR ALL: Avihai’s father Samuel (75) believes the government must agree to exchange the around 220 hostages for several thousand Palestinian prisoners. Photo: Magnus Paus / Dagbladet Show more
Hamas and its militant wing the Qassam Brigades have stated that they will release all hostages if Israel “empties” its prisons – releasing all Palestinian prisoners. It includes over 10,000 people, according to Palestinian authorities, reports Al Jazeera.
Several of the activists outside the military headquarters believe that this is the solution. Even if that would mean releasing a significant number of Hamas fighters.
– But they have to do it now – not after the war, says Samuel to Dagbladet.
– Main goal
Avihai will not fully answer whether he supports such a thought.
Norwegian-Palestinian Zaki: – Expects to die
– My father has the right to have his opinions, like everyone else. The only thing that matters to me is getting the hostages released, he says.
– Do you think they will listen to you?
– Oh yes, I’m sure they’ve already listened: First they said that getting the hostages back is just one of the goals. Now they say it is a main goal. And I think that when they understand that it is only the target, maybe the hostages can come back. I really hope so.
UNDER PRESSURE: Many believe that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is responsible for the fact that the approximately 220 hostages have not yet been released. Photo: Magnus Paus / Dagbladet Show more
Prime Minister Netanyahu met with representatives of the relatives on Saturday, and said afterwards that getting the hostages released is “a central part” of the army’s goal.
For their part, many relatives are anxious about what will happen to their loved ones now that the army has stepped up warfare in Gaza, with ever greater efforts on the ground. Hamas has repeatedly made unconfirmed reports that hostages have died in Israeli airstrikes.
– Yesterday we heard that tanks are rolling in and we are all worried, Meirav Leshem Gonen – mother of a woman believed to have been kidnapped from the Tribe of Nova festival on October 7 – told the news agency Reuters.
2023-10-30 05:08:54
#couldnt #protect
