Hamas Hostages: Day 90
I. Hostage Square, Mid-Afternoon, Mid-December
On a Monday afternoon in mid-December, I met with Liat in Hostage Square. It was business and social.
“Where should we meet?” She had asked earlier on WhatsApp.
“Chatufim”, I replied, using the Hebrew word for hostages. Hostage Square has become the most significant place in Tel Aviv since October 7. Everyone is drawn there. It feels almost wrong to be elsewhere.
“I was thinking, maybe the beach,” she suggested, unconvincingly.
“No. Chatufim.”
“OK. Hostages.”
An imposing cultural plaza - surrounded by an art museum, opera house, theatre, library and restaurants - has been renamed “Hostage Square.” It is a central gathering place for the families of those held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Their friends and family. People wanting to demonstrate their support for those directly impacted.
Each community has a separate sheltered area where they display posters of people murdered or being held hostage – the same ones that were so heartlessly ripped from poles and fences in Europe and North America. There are always community residents present to chat with whoever drops by.
The agony of the nation is impossible to convey.
In the same way that the Holocaust necessitated the development of new language to begin to address the indescribable and unfathomable, so too, October 7th defies words. We lack the vocabulary to process and articulate.
It feels wrong to begin any conversation with even a casual: “How are you?” Because we are all brimming with dread and despair. Israelis live on a knife edge of guilt and anxiety. The country is reeling from the unspeakable barbarism, compounded by the fact that the Hamas attackers encountered no resistance. The IDF was nowhere. The government. Nowhere. Not until late on Sunday night, October 8, did PM Benjamin Netanyahu address the nation, almost two full days after the carnage had been unleashed.
Two days of total silence from the authorities. Civilians were left to somehow manage, without an army or government.
The state of Israel exists to do one thing - protect Jewish life. This abject failure. This betrayal. Negligence. Malevolence. Has left the nation profoundly traumatized.
There is no way to sugar-coat what happened. What is already known of the conduct of the IDF, intelligence and civilian government is mind-blowing. Everyone is looking away, for now, and channeling energy into doing what Israelis do in times of existential crisis - forging on. But the rage infuses everything. It is palpable.
Very recently, I met with the mother of a young woman still being held hostage in Gaza. Like so many Israelis express privately, she said that the suppressed rage cannot be contained much longer. And I believe that she is correct. It is only intensifying over time, not diminishing.
II. Rimon Kirsht, Daniel and Emilia Aloni
After coffee with Liat, I wandered through the Square. Knots of friends, families, supporters gathered here and there, finding ways to pass the time. At one booth, dedicated to several ravaged communities, there was a cluster of about 30 people, standing or seated on plastic chairs. Dusk was falling and a light chill came suddenly. I was cold but so drawn to the couple speaking. And, of course, I felt guilty. How could I not deal with being a touch cold, when in Gaza…..
I would guess that the woman holding the microphone was in her late 60s, sitting aside what I assumed to be her spouse. She spoke about her daughter, Rimon Kirsht, who has become iconic in Israel for her long, hostile stare at a masked Hamas thug as she was “handed over” from terrorist custody to the International Red Cross upon being released on November 28th.
Even before her release, 36-year-old Rimon had already become something of a household name in Israel, following Hamas’ publication of a propaganda video in which she was featured, along with Yelena Trufanova (50). Rimon and Yelena flanked Daniel Aloni, 45, (her name is the feminine form, Danielle, but many Israelis write it as the male version in English - Daniel), who sat in the middle and let loose with a torrent of invective directed at PM Benjamin Netanyahu and pleading to be released. The distress of all three women is evident. Daniel’s performance clearly pleased her captors, who turned to her yet again a short while after to burnish their humanitarian credentials.
So many hostages – especially children – had been told by the Hamas captors to wave, smile, even show affection – as they were released from captivity. As if they were genuinely fond of the terrorists and torn about returning home.
Daniel and her 6-year-old daughter, Emilia, were held held together in Gaza and released on November 24th. On the 23rd, Daniel was “asked” by her guards to write a letter expressing her gratitude for their “kindness”. The original, written in Hebrew (with an Arabic translation) is below. We have provided an English translation at the end of this article1. Daniel understood she was writing to save both their lives and laid it on thick.
Until the final moments of their captivity, Hamas ensured that the humiliation of the individuals, as well as all Israelis, was complete.
Which is why Rimon’s wordless resistance resonated so powerfully.
Rimon and her husband Yagev Buchstab were abducted by Hamas on October 7 and held together in captivity. When told that she would be released, Rimon refused to go without her husband. Her Hamas “hosts” told her that if she did not comply they would both be murdered.
So, she left Yagev behind.
Rimon emerged from the Hamas van and, before walking the few steps towards the Red Cross representatives, she paused to fix a piercing stare of fury and resolve at one of the masked, armed thugs supervising the handover. Her eyes were ferocious. His, of course, were impossible to see, as was his face, covered in the signature Hamas head wrap.
We know little about the conditions in which Rimon and Yagev were imprisoned. Many specifics are being withheld until those remaining in captivity are released.
But we know enough. All hostages were fed inadequately from the outset. “Starved” has been used often by released hostages. Psychological abuse and torture are standard, with the degree of sadism varying with the individual guards. Sexual abuse – of men and women – has also been common. Not until every last hostage is repatriated will we learn of the full extent of what has transpired.
Physical abuse has also been reported. Released Thai nationals who were kept with Israeli men reported that the latter were treated much worse, including regular lashings with electric wires. Given that Hamas has made clear that it considers all men to be legitimate military targets, no matter their age, we can surmise that they have been subjected to much worse.
Sensory deprivation has been widespread. Most hostages remaining at this point are almost certainly held in the underground tunnel system, with no light, little air and extreme dampness. Hygiene facilities are virtually non-existent. And then, the hostages are humiliated by their Hamas guards for being “dirty.”
III Three Old Men
Every so often since October 7, Hamas has released propaganda videos or photographs of hostages. Classic “psy ops” (psychological warfare). Such cruelty is meant to torture the captives, their loved ones and the whole country. And, I must admit, it is very effective. On December 18th, a video of three elderly men, Amiram Cooper (84), Yoram Metzger (80), and Chaim Peri (79), was released by Hamas. Peri, who has been denied all medicine to treat a chronic, serious and life-threatening condition, seems to be propped up in a seated position. His head flops and his eyes cannot even meet the camera. He cannot even feign alertness. Old men.
IV. The International Committee of the Red Cross
Established in 1863, the Red Cross is a globally recognized brand; the gold standard for humanitarianism. Its conduct in fulfilling its mandate during this conflict, however, has been criticized by Israelis and others.
Its core mission – to assist those in need of humanitarian assistance, particularly in war or conflict zones – requires that the Red Cross maintains an unimpeachable operational standard of neutrality. Put simply, the organization must not be seen to favor or advocate for one side over another. To do their critical life -saving work it is essential that all parties to a conflict trust their impartiality.
Throughout this conflict, however, the Red Cross has not visited with a single Israeli or other foreign national taken hostage by Hamas on October 7. Hamas has no signs of life nor provided remotely appropriate medical care. And the Red Cross, it seems, has not requested access to check on the well-being of the hostages, at a minimum. (In the absence of information to the contrary, that is what we are left to surmise.)
When pressed by Israeli officials and family members of hostages as to why it has been so passive in this regard, the Red Cross remonstrates that it must remain and be perceived to be “neutral.”
This conduct of the Red Cross has been the subject of significant controversy in Israel, with many families and government officials accusing the humanitarian group of not doing enough. In response, the Red Cross has pointed out that at the hostage handovers, for example, their workers are extremely vulnerable. They are unarmed and often surrounded by screaming mobs of hostile Palestinians in Gaza, as well as heavily armed and masked Hamas thugs. Some Israeli hostages have remarked that the “handover” was among the most terrifying episodes of their horrific ordeal. They feared being torn apart, literally, in the frenzied chaos.
Many Israelis, however, see things somewhat differently. As Red Cross officials have had meetings with Hamas leaders at the highest levels, in Doha and elsewhere, it is difficult to understand how a request to visit hostages would compromise neutrality. Doing such work is why the Red Cross exists.
It is difficult to accept that to merely request a visit would so compromise Red Cross neutrality. But. Let’s suspend disbelief and flow with that for now. Then why not just ask Hamas to take possession of life-saving medication required by many hostages and deliver it to them? Would that compromise their neutrality? The Red Cross, apparently, takes that position.
There have been several reports of Red Cross officials flatly refusing to receive medication and attempt to pass it onto Hamas in order that the intended hostage might receive it. In early December, when meeting with Roni and Simona Steinbrecher, whose 30-year-old daughter, Doron Steinbrecher, is a hostage, a Red Cross official admonished the couple: “Shouldn’t you be thinking of the Palestinians?”
“It’s hard for the Palestinians, they’re being bombed.”
Malki Shem Tov is the father of 21-year-old hostage Omer Shem Tov. Omer suffers from very serious asthma which will become more acute if he is being held in the underground terror tunnel system, which is quite likely.
At a meeting in Israel on December 17 with Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric, Malki Shem Tov rose from his chair and walked towards the head of the table, where Spoljaric was seated.
“My son is suffering from asthma,” he told her. “He needs to use his inhaler. You are saying that you will do everything to help him. And I’m sure you try and you try to do your best. But. My son cannot wait anymore and I’m sorry. I cannot wait anymore. This is his inhaler. Please. Make sure that he will get it. I don’t know the address where he is in Gaza. But he needs to get it. And, by the way, this is your job. Right? This is the job of the Red Cross. Please. Do your job.”
Spoljaric sat, impassively, lightly touched the inhaler and left it on the table where Shem Tov had placed it. We have no idea what she chose to do later but my assumption, based on her demeanor, is that she left the meeting room and the lifesaving medicine as well.
V. Omer Shem Tov, Maya Regev and Itay Regev
Omer Shem Tov was abducted from the Nova music festival along with his two close friends, siblings Maya and Itay Regev, 21 and 18, respectively. Both had been shot by Hamas terrorists either shortly before or upon capture and were kept in the same private home in Gaza, although in separate rooms. The bullet lodged in Itay’s leg was removed by a man he was told was a doctor. (We know that another hostage, Mia Schem, was operated on by a veterinarian and without anesthetic.) Itay’s operation was done without anesthetic. The pain was excruciating but Itay was silent. He had been threatened that if he uttered a sound he would be killed.
Itay described the man operating on him with crude forceps as “sweating and scared.”
Whatever his professional credentials it seems clear that he was forced to “operate” under duress and, most likely, had been threatened by Hamas. You do not refuse when they call.
Several days later, when changing Maya’s bandages on her injured right foot, Omer and Itay were brought in to control her, covering her mouth to muffle her screams from the pain. Any noise, Hamas thugs made clear, would result in instant death.
Maya was later taken to a hospital in Gaza where her badly mangled right foot was re-attached, however poorly, requiring multiple painful surgeries since her return to Israel. In hospital in Gaza, she was held briefly in a room with another hostage, 26-year-old Guy Iluz, who died in captivity. An accomplished sound engineer for several Israeli music legends, Iluz had attempted to escape the terrorist attack on the music festival in his jeep with four friends. They were all murdered. Somehow, Iluz managed to flee and climb a tree, where he hid until the Hamas terrorists found him. At some point he was shot and wounded gravely. Below is a brief excerpt from a much longer interview with Maya and Itay which aired on Israeli TV channel 12:
When he was no longer responding to her, Maya asked her captors if she could see Guy Iluz. She wanted to confirm with her own eyes that he was dead. She did. Without her release and testimony no one would ever have known his ultimate fate.
VI. Noa Argamani and Other Female Hostages
Noa Argamani, a 26-year-old university student who was at the music festival with her boyfriend, has become an iconic figure; one of the few women caught on camera while being abducted. A heart wrenching video shows her on a motorcycle, sandwiched between two terrorists, her arms outstretched to her partner, who was being force marched, bloody and sweaty, hands bound behind his back and looking helplessly at Noa. Terror is seared on her face as she screams: “I don’t want to die. Don’t kill me.”
Noa’s mother, Liora, hovers at death’s door in the final stages of terminal brain cancer. She has issued a heart-rending video plea to Hamas to release her daughter – her only child - so that she may see her before she dies. Liora waits. On borrowed time.
Following the last round of hostage releases, Hamas stated that it no longer held children or any women; only military age-men. That, of course, is a lie. Hamas continued to hold a baby, toddler and quite a few elderly men. They also have many young, attractive women in their 20s and 30s in their custody.
Eighteen women, at least, remain in the Gaza Strip. It is impossible to be more precise due to Hamas’ refusal to provide signs of life, death, any information about their captives. What little we do know is either gleaned from the testimony of hostages who have been released or gruesome video taken on October 7 involving several of the young women in various states of extreme distress.
For the attack Hamas terrorists were all outfitted with body and GoPro cameras, to record their savagery for acclaim. They were so proud of what they were doing that they live streamed and amplified many of the more barbaric moments of their epic attack. They can be heard yelling and bragging in Arabic that they will bring attractive young women to be “sex slaves.”
Islamists consider the sexual subjugation and exploitation of infidel women to be their due, as conquerors. This savagery was standard conduct for ISIS terrorists, particularly with the Yezidi women and girls they captured in Iraq. Many died enslaved and there are likely others still alive and being abused. We will never know.
But with Hamas we do know. We know that they are lying. They still hold young women in the Gaza Strip. The murders of several have been confirmed. The fates of the others is unknown but they are presumed to be alive. There will be a time to learn the details of the conditions of their captivity. But not now. They have no voice and it falls to those of us on the outside to protect and honor their dignity.
VII. Hostage Square, Nightfall
Back in Hostage Square, I settled into a white plastic chair in the semi-circle of 30 or so participants gathered to listen to Rimon’s mother, Avital, as she spoke. She shared with the group their determination to help Rimon however possible but to focus their public efforts fully on securing the release of Rimon’s husband. “She is fine,” her mother said, with qualifications. She is fine but not fine. “But she is here. With us. We need him home.”
Avital invites the small group to ask her questions. Anything. “Even difficult questions. Just no politics. This is not the place for politics.”
Slowly, cautiously, they open up. This cluster of tortured family and friends of loved ones held in darkness by what is perhaps the most brutal terrorist organization in the world. They are desperate for a shard of hope.
You can see, plainly, that in this refuge they can speak and not be judged; find some succor to sustain them in the moment. Each person makes a similar comment. That each day is an eternity. Each hour and minute. Time is agony and their greatest adversary.
Time is not on their side.
English translation of letter written by Daniel Aloni:
To the generals who accompanied us these last few weeks,
We are likely separating tomorrow, but I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the extraordinary humanity that you showed my daughter Emilia.
You two were like fathers to her, inviting her to your room every chance you could, and she always wanted to go.
She is leaving with the feeling that you are not just her friends, but really really good friends.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for the many hours spent babysitting.
Thank you for being patient with her and for showering her with candy, fruits, and for everything that you gave, even when there was nothing.
Children shouldn't be in captivity, but thanks to you and the other good people we met along the way, my daughter thinks that she’s a queen in Gaza, and in general is leaving feeling like the centre of the world.
We did not meet one person on this long journey, from junior to senior staff, who did not treat her with sensitivity, compassion, and love.
I will be eternally grateful that she’s not leaving traumatised, and I will always remember the good treatment we received here despite the difficult situation you had to cope with yourselves, and for the terrible losses that you experienced here in Gaza.
Hopefully, in a better world, we will be able to really be good friends.
I wish you and your families great health, health, and love.
Daniel and Emilia
Translation from Hebrew by Maya Naftolin
Bring them all home. Whatever it takes.
"The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in time of moral crisis preserve their neutrality."
Time for us to stop supporting those international organizations that play politics and do little.
Or worse, favor the criminals.