Only a small fraction – about 2.8% – of Israel’s more than nine million people live on kibbutzim. For their residents, they are more than just plots of land formerly used for agriculture and an example of cooperativism. They are, as five relatives of Israelis kidnapped in Gaza explained this Thursday, rather “extended families”, being the “best and safest place to live for Jews.” That was, until Hamas arrived on October 7.
“The terrorists entered the kibbutz and massacred an entire community. They burned houses with people inside. They went house to house and kidnapped or killed neighbors,” explained Marev Mor Raviv, whose uncles, cousin and nephew were kidnapped in Nahal Oz during the morning of 7-O. The body of another cousin of his was found dead, riddled with bullets and with his hands tied, lying on the road 48 hours later. “My family has been in the kibbutz for more than 50 years, it is their home. My uncle Avraham has been helping children from Gaza for years to come to Israel to receive better medical treatment. We have always wanted peace, but what these people do. …I can’t even call them people, or animals. They are something that we are not able to understand. Help us save our families,” he asked.
Mor Raviv was just one of five Israelis who traveled to Madrid this Thursday to demand the release of their loved ones held by the Islamist group and the help of the Spanish Government and to denounce the “war crimes” that Hamas has openly documented on social media. . In total, at least 224 people have been arrested and are believed to be held in the Gaza Strip. The relatives made this request at a press conference held at the headquarters of the Jewish Community of Madrid after meeting with the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, where they also demanded the support of the Executive for the release of the hostages.
The event, which was held just a few minutes after Hamas announced the death of 50 kidnapped by Israeli bombings, was attended by the Israeli ambassador to Spain, Rodica Radian-Gordon, who thanked her compatriots for “sharing their first-hand testimonies” and asked the Spanish people to “join” his requests for release.
“There is no precedent in the world for the criminal kidnapping of such a large mass of civilians, it is a clear war crime, with all the ethical, legal and international connotations. I have come here today to ask Spain and all democratic communities to Do not remain silent and demand the release of my relatives,” claimed Maayan Sigal-Koren.
This Israeli with Argentine nationality has five relatives in Hamas hands, including her mother, who live in Kibbutz Nir Vitzhak. He deduced that Hamas had not murdered his family after authorities visited the family home: “The army entered their house but found no trace of them. The house was rioted, but there were no signs of physical violence or blood.” Later, the cell phones of her mother, her stepfather, her uncles, and her cousin in Gaza were traced.
“It’s been 20 days now and there hasn’t been a single day that my children haven’t asked where my mother is and why can’t we go to Gaza to bring her home. I just want help to bring them all back safely.” pleaded Maayan, who assured that they searched the videos released by Hamas but could not find them.
Wearing T-shirts with the phrase in English “Bring them home now” and photos of their parents Raz and Ohad, Yulie Ben Ami and her partner Roberto César Padrón Meyer cried when listening to the testimonies of their compatriots. Unlike the others, they experienced firsthand the entry of the Islamist group into the Be’eri kibbutz, one of the most massacred in the coordinated attack against Israel.
“I woke up at 6:20 in the morning and 10 minutes later I received a message saying that someone had entered the kibbutz. There were shouts in Arabic and a lot of gunshots. At 7, I spoke to my mother on WhatsApp and I “He said he was already at the shelter, but he had heard the terrorists outside,” Yulie explained. Two hours later, Hamas had destroyed her parents’ house, and around 11 a.m., Yulie received a photo of her father in pajamas in Gaza with two terrorists holding her hands. It was not until almost 8:42 p.m. when the army rescued them, along with her sister: “We saw bodies lying on the ground. Even when we reached the safe place, the terrorists continued shooting.”
Several of the relatives, including Yulie, criticized the actions of the Red Cross, which is in Gaza, but does not provide help to the kidnapped: “My mother is sick, she needs medicine. We don’t know if she is receiving it, or how much.” “They will be able to survive without them for a long time. We want them to be given the medicine so they can be well.”
With a broken voice, Naama Weinberg joined the requests for the release of her compatriots, lamenting “the absolute lack of knowledge” about her loved ones. “This matter is not only an Israeli problem, but one for the entire world. We cannot remain silent, we need immediate help,” concluded the young woman, whose uncles were murdered in Be’eri and who has her cousin, Itai Sirvsky, from 38 years old, kidnapped. “We ask that Spain speak with the only two countries that speak with Hamas [Qatar and Iran]. If we do not want the same thing that happened with ISIS to happen again, we have to act now. We beg you to help us free them.”
