When Maayan Sigal-Koren arrived in Madrid, five of her close relatives had been kidnapped by Hamas for three weeks and she had no news about them. It was last October 26, and he had arrived in the Spanish capital to seek international assistance for the release of Palestinian militia hostages. Now, as he joins this newspaper via video conference from his home in Tel AvivThree of his kidnapped relatives were released For Hamas: his mother, aunt and cousin. The other two, his uncle and stepfather, are still in an unknown location in Gaza, not knowing whether they are dead or alive.
Sigal-Koren tells the story of the day of abduction, captivity and liberation, based on the statements collected from her relatives, especially her conversations with her mother.
When they entered the house of Nir Yitzhak’s family, Hamas militants were ‘enthusiastic’ and yelling and shooting at people to get out of houses. “My aunt thought they were going to kill them all. They hugged each other and tried to calm down and decided to go out and do as they were told,” she says. They put them in a car and drove at full speed to Gaza. It didn’t take long. Nir Yitzhak is an Israeli farming community (kibbutz) located a few kilometers from the southern separation wall of the Palestinian Strip.
When they entered Gaza, they were taken out of the car and taken down a flight of stairs “about forty meters” deep into the ground. They walked through the tunnel for about two hours. Then they climbed a very high ladder. Clara MarmanSigal-Koren’s 63-year-old mother could not stand up: “He was too short and his steps were too far apart.” Finally he helped, finishing the climb.
They arrived at a home where they would be kept under surveillance for the next 59 days. “My mother says so I always heard about the bombings, almost always at night. This was preventing them from sleeping. “They were afraid they would be bombed,” he says. Israel dropped thousands of bombs on the Gaza Strip, some weighing up to a ton, destroying multi-storey residential blocks and often leaving a crater in the ground.
Sigal-Koren limits the details she provides about the abduction of her mother and other family members. First, for the safety of those still there: Hamas terrorists, he says, are threatening to do something to them if they speak out. Because Israeli officials later talked to meet with them what to say and what not to say. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Embassy of Spain, allows journalists to contact relatives of those abducted by Hamas and publicize their cases.
Ask permission for everything
Those abducted in captivity had to get permission for everything and suffered from their lack of freedom. “My mother says she was told a lot of lies. a type of psychological horror“It’s as if the Israeli Government doesn’t want to let them out.”
Following a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel on November 28, three women in Maayan’s family were released: his mother, Clara; his aunt Gabriela; and his cousin Emilia. “It was very exciting to see them. My children were very happy. The eldest hugged her grandmother so tightly! She hugged her for two minutes without letting go.”
The youngest, 17-year-old Emilia, has returned to her studies. On the first day, his friends asked him: welcome celebration. “He talks about it with his friends, but he says very little because he knows he can’t give any information on the subject,” he tells us. All of them receive psychological help.
Mobilization of family members
He follows current developments about the war by watching television news. When asked about the impact of Israel’s bombings on Gaza, which left at least 20,000 dead and 50,000 injured, Maayan says he still thinks the same as before the war: “Palestinians from Gaza are captives of Hamas. “Everyone is suffering from these terrorists who do not care about life,” he says. “I have always believed that the only way to bring peace is through negotiation, but Hamas must cease to exist.”
In Israel, the mobilization of relatives to demand that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government prioritize the release of their relatives is gaining momentum, especially after three people were killed by fire opened by their own army. Sigal-Koren says the government met with the relatives twice, the last time was very difficult because the families were so tense.
“I had a lot of confidence in the Army before my mother came back: They know what they’re doing, and she said they wouldn’t bomb our family,” he explains. “But when my mother told me she was afraid of being bombed, I started to doubt. Maybe they don’t know everything. They need to negotiate, that’s the only way to get them out of there alive. We don’t really know what happened. “There are a lot of things they don’t tell us,” he says.
The Forum for the Families of Kidnapped and Missing Israeli Hostages in Gaza confirmed the death of a 73-year-old among those held by Hamas this Friday. It is estimated that approximately twenty hostages died. 128 people still detained in GazaIn exchange for the release of 240 Palestinian prisoners, 105 were handed over. Negotiations between both sides for a new ceasefire, including the release of hostages, have been halted.