“The parents of a three-year-old baby were killed”: the Israelis spoke about tiny hostages in Gaza

On Friday, November 24, there was a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. This is the first pause in fighting in seven weeks of war. The main expected event is the release of Israeli hostages. At first, 13 Israelis, including women and children, were going to be exchanged. The exchange for Palestinian prisoners is due to take place this afternoon. We remember the stories of those who are held captive in the Gaza Strip.

The cessation of hostilities, although temporary, has provided some relief to the 2.3 million Gazans who endure daily Israeli bombardment. On the other hand, there was hope for the Israelis, who were captured by the Hamas group on October 7 and taken captive. They are there to this day, and their relatives have virtually no information about their loved ones.

The war, unfortunately, is not over yet. The Israeli side warned about this. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue fighting after the truce to “destroy Hamas’s military capabilities” and return all 240 prisoners held in Gaza.

During the four days of the truce, Hamas must release about 50 captives as part of the agreement. Israel – about 150 Palestinian prisoners.

It is difficult to say who exactly will be released from the Gaza Strip. But there are some guesses. Three-year-old American-Israeli baby Abigail Mor Edan may be in the first group. Hamas kidnapped the girl on October 7. The father, Roy Edan and his wife Smadar Edan were killed by Palestinian militants. Abigail’s ten-year-old brother (Roy Edan) and six-year-old sister watched their parents being murdered. The children hid for about 14 hours and remained alive. They were rescued and sent to a shelter. Abigail fled to the house of a family neighbor, where she was kidnapped.

Abigail’s great-aunt Elizabeth Naftali, who lives in Los Angeles, said the family is praying that the agreement will be honored and the girl will be released. By the way, Abigail turns four years old exactly on November 24th.

Farmer and medical student Avichai Brodutch, 42, defended his community in Kfar Aza when his wife Hagar and three children (10-year-old Ofri, 8-year-old Yuval and 4-year-old Uriah) were kidnapped by gunmen.

Nine-year-old Israeli and Irish citizen Emily Hand may also be released. Father Thomas Hand, writing for the Independent, said his daughter was taken away in a pickup truck by Hamas militants to an unknown destination. Thomas was taken out of the kibbutz by the Israeli military and taken to a safe place. But the father knew absolutely nothing about the fate of his daughter.

“Emily didn’t have an easy life – her mother died of breast cancer when she was young – but you wouldn’t know it if you talked to her daughter. She is kind, cheerful, loves to sing, dance, and perform. He knows how to do a cartwheel and twine,” the grief-stricken father shares with foreign media.

Thomas Hand is concerned about his daughter’s mental and physical health in captivity: “Even if we get her back tomorrow, we’ll have to deal with the damage for the rest of our lives.”

Yossi Schneider, whose 30-year-old cousin Shiri was kidnapped along with her sons Ariel, 4, and Kfir Bibas, 10 months, told the BBC he was concerned the deal might not go through: “I’m trying to be realistic and I know who we are dealing with. Everything can fall apart. I’m afraid of this.”

Yarden Bibas, Shiri’s husband, is also among the militants. During the abduction, he was hit on the head with a hammer.

Maayan Zin dreams of seeing her daughters again, 8-year-old Ela and 15-year-old Daphne. Since the abduction, the only evidence that they are alive is a photograph published by Hamas. In the photo, Maayan Zin recognized her eldest daughter: she was sitting on a mattress in an unfamiliar room.

In search of additional confirmation, the mother began to monitor Gaza news sites. And I found a photo of both girls in pajamas. Ela’s two fingers were bandaged.

Yoni Asher (his wife Doron and daughters Raz, 4, and Aviv, 2, were abducted from Nir Oz) expressed hope that all the hostages will return.

Yoni lost contact with his family around 10am on October 7th. They spent the weekend with their grandmother. The wife sent her husband a photo of Raza and Aviva sitting in her grandmother’s room. They fled there from rocket fire.

Then a 10-second video appeared online showing his wife and daughters crammed into a crowded pickup truck heading into the Gaza Strip. “I hope they are together, that they are alive and that I can bring them back. Who takes babies captive anyway?” says Yoni.