Yesterday was a difficult day for him. A message suddenly appeared in the family’s WhatsApp group: “Ori left the group.” Ori is her son, he is 25 years old and is being kidnapped by Hamas. Elhanan Danino said his heart was beating. They later explained that when an account is inactive for more than 120 days, the company deletes it. Ori has been held hostage in Gaza for all this time. Palestinian militia, considered terrorists by the EU and Spain, made a surprise attack on the music festival where the young man was dancing with his friends. They were a few kilometers from the wall separating them from Gaza. More than 360 people died, mostly young people.
It was October 7th. Six days later, Israeli officers went to Daninos’ home in Givat Zeev, an Israeli settlement (considered illegal by the international community) on the outskirts of Jerusalem. They were given the following information: Ori was alive but in the hands of Hamas. There has been no news from the authorities since that date.
Elhanan Danino This was received by the king of Spain on Tuesday, Philip VI, along with seven other relatives of the abducted persons and one of those released by Hamas. They are in Madrid on a visit organized by the Israeli Government as part of its campaign to encourage support for the hostage release cause and the war against Hamas in Gaza. According to the government, this is the largest attack in history against the Strip in retaliation for attacks that claimed the lives of approximately 1,150 Israelis, mostly civilians; Gaza has killed at least 27,000 people, mostly children, according to the Ministry of Health.
“My other son, Aharon, 15, who came with me, was smiling. The king told her to keep her smileand he had to remain strong, because he was,” Danino told this newspaper at a meeting organized by the Israeli Embassy in Madrid, hours after the king’s visit. It is not a coincidence that the monarch spoke of the teenager’s strength. He was referring to a letter he wrote for the birthday of his absent brother. “What is his situation? or I don’t know if you know it’s your birthday. I don’t know if you’re breathing or hurt. You have no idea how sorry I am, both mentally and physically. I can’t work… You always called me a midget, and I told you I was older and stronger. But now I realize that my body, my mind and my emotions still belong to the little boy who cannot sleep at night… You were my shield.”
“I blessed His Majesty and asked him to use his influence in the world to secure the release of my son,” Danino adds.
They also met with Pedro Sánchez at La Moncloa. They talked for an hour with the Head of Government in a large area with photographs of their kidnapped relatives. “He was very close and I think he empathized with us.. I said to him: From father to father, imagine not knowing what happened to your son for 123 days. “I wanted him to speak with the heart of a father if he speaks to Qatar or any other country.”
He is aware of Pedro Sánchez’s public criticism. “The unbearable death of civilians in Gaza” Because he saw it on Israeli television. He says he understands her because, as a ruler, he has to worry about both Palestinians and Israelis.
136 people still kidnapped in Gaza
Ori, the kidnapped young man, is the first child of five siblings. He was at the Tribe of Nova music festival in the town of Reim, along with thousands of young Israelis and some foreigners. His father shares the last photos he has; At the party, with sunglasses, dancing at night.
When Hamas gunmen arrived, Ori filled his car with people and managed to escape the massacre, where hundreds were shot dead. However, according to a friend of his, he decided to return to save the people he had just met at the festival. That’s when he would be captured along with the three people he went to save. The last conversation with a friend was at 8:34 That fateful morning occurred about two hours after the worst attack in Israel’s recent history began.
It is unknown whether Ori is alive or not. An internal Israeli report estimates that a fifth of the 136 people have already died. According to The New York Times. It is known that many of those kidnapped are in their homes in Gaza, which has been subjected to intense bombardment by Israeli planes.
“I know son can die at any momentIn the hands of Hamas or by the Army itself. “I don’t think about it,” Danino admits. “Every day when I go to work, I feel like my heart, my hands, my head are missing,” she adds, very slowly, as if she’s trying to hold back tears. “I believe God will help me and come back tomorrow.”
This Wednesday, we learned about the new ceasefire proposal proposed by Hamas. This will consist of three 45-day phases in which hostages will be released in exchange for the release of 1,500 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons. Humanitarian aid entry to Gaza Complete withdrawal of troops from the Strip and reconstruction plan. Approximately 60 percent of the houses were damaged or destroyed by bombings or demolitions under the control of the Israeli army.
“I know that my son will be one of the last to leave because he is young,” says Elhanan Danino.
Groups of hostages’ family members
Danino does not attend the weekly vigils with other relatives of the abducted people: “I prefer to pray to my God.”
He also does not want to give credit to those who entered the Israeli Parliament and shouted demanding that the far-right Benjamin Netanyahu government do this. will prioritize the release of loved ones. He says he respects them, but trusts that Israeli soldiers, politicians and diplomats will know how to do their job and get them out.
He says he is not a politicized man, but says he traveled hand in hand with the Government or Jewish groups during these months. several European capitals (London, Paris, Krakow, Kiev, Rome, Bucharest or Budapest in addition to Madrid) In a message parallel to the message conveyed by the Netanyahu Government: “What the world saw on October 7 is not just the Palestine-Israel problem. This is a problem with Islamic fundamentalism. “We have seen this in many cities around the world: London, Paris, Barcelona… I think the same thing will be seen in many cities around the world in a few years.”