Saturday morning became a living hell in southern Israel. Well over a thousand Hamas fighters came from Gaza and attacked over 20 places at the same time – from 06:00 in the morning. Kibbutz Nir Oz was one of the targets.
– A few hours later, at 09.20, Meirav, my brother’s girlfriend, came with a WhatsApp voice message: “Terrorists are in the house, they are shooting and Yair is trying to keep the door to the security room closed,” Meirav said, Yaniv Yaakov tells Dagbladet.
Then the contact between Yaniv Yaakov, his wife – and their loved ones in Kibbutz Nir Oz disappeared.
– The morgues are already full
Hid
All houses and apartments in southern Israel have their own security rooms – or panic rooms, which are designed to keep bombs out. From 07:00 on Saturday morning, thousands of residents locked themselves in here. And kept in touch with loved ones on WhatsApp.
– My wife spoke to my brother at around 08.45 to hear how things were going. My brother said that he and his girlfriend were in the security room, and that his boys, aged 12 and 16, were in another panic room, says 46-year-old Yaniv Yaakov to Dagbladet and continues:
– We tried to find out how they were, but without success. I tried to locate them via Find my iPhone, but that didn’t work either, says Yaakov.
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Video of kidnapping
Yaakov contacted his ex-wife, who told her that two of the kidnappers contacted her and forced Yaakov’s 12- and 16-year-old nephews with them. They were kidnapped. Then the contact disappeared.
– For almost 30 hours we did not know what had happened and where they were, says Yaakov.
They contacted all possible public bodies to find out what had happened – and what information they had. They posted photos on social media and asked people who knew to contact them.
– On Sunday evening we received a phone call from my brother’s friend who lives in the north. He had a short video that showed the kidnapping of my brother and his girlfriend, says Yaakov.
Carefully planned
Hamas had clearly planned the hostage-taking carefully. They knew that the Israelis were entrenched inside the security rooms.
– They threw grenades into the rooms next door to make people jump out of the windows or open the doors of the security rooms so that they could kidnap them. They were very structured and everything seems carefully planned, says Yaakov.
Now a whole week has passed since the brother, his girlfriend and his two children were taken into Gaza. Nothing new has come about what happens to them.
– I hope so, but no information will come out. I hope that someone says that there are negotiations going on, but hears nothing about it, says Yaakov to Dagbladet on Monday morning.
He says that his older brother has worked as a farmer for many years.
– He is a relaxed person who is always optimistic and thinks that the world is a good place to be. I hope that he manages to be the same person after this too, he says and continues:
– Even in my worst nightmares, I never imagined that something like this could happen. I believed in my country and the strength of the Israeli army. I also hoped that the situation in Gaza would improve.
From inside Gaza: – Soon it will all be over
– Not really
Yaakov asks Norway and all other countries to put pressure on the parties, so that some solution is reached.
– Pressure is the only thing that can help, he says and continues:
– You might think that I am calm. But I’m not. Sitting with my sister yesterday, I told her that this doesn’t feel real. That this cannot happen, he says.
He becomes silent.
– The only thing I’m thinking now is that my brother and his family – and all other Israelis who have been taken… They shouldn’t be part of this. They have nothing to do there, he says.
At least 199 hostages
On Monday, the Israeli army reports that at least 199 people have been kidnapped by Hamas, write Ha’aretz. The figure is higher than previously reported.
Both the EU and UN chief António Guterres call on Hamas to “release the hostages immediately, without conditions”.
Saturday quoted Ha’aretz The Israeli army and said they have killed the Hamas commander who led the terrorist attack in Kibbutz Nir Oz.
2023-10-17 05:57:59
#Give #signs #alive
