Holocaust survivor among over 100 taken hostage in Israel

In an update on the “devastating” past two days, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan told a press conference “grandparents and the elderly, among them holocaust survivors, who endured the Nazis, were violently dragged from their homes, this time by Hamas, and taken into Gaza.”

Holding up a photo, Mr Erdan said an unidentified Holocaust survivor and grandmother was held in captivity and forced to pose with a Hamas rifle.

“This is inhumane. Inhumane,” he said.

The Israeli government confirmed over 100 people have been taken hostage after Hamas, the Palestinian militant group which rules the Gaza Strip, launched an air, sea and land attack on Saturday, coinciding with the Jewish holiday Simchat Torah.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken said men, women and children have been “dragged across the border into Gaza, including a Holocaust survivor in a wheelchair. People gunned down in the streets, civilians”.

“It should be something that revolts the entire world.”

Mr Blinken reportedly appeared to be referring to a video of the Holocaust survivor holding a rifle above, The Wrap noted.

Some of the hostages are believed to be being held in some of the small towns near the Gaza Strip, while others have been taken back into Gaza.

‘Kidnapped in her home’

As the conflict continues, dozens of distraught Israeli families have scrambled for information on missing loved ones.

“I just want to be able to hug him,” said Omri Shtivi, 30, whose brother Idan went missing after a desert rave near the Gaza border came under attack by Hamas militants.

Speaking to AFP by telephone, Shtivi said the authorities had not contacted the family to provide information or offer help in finding his brother.

Police and the army’s Home Front Command opened late Saturday — about 16 hours after fighting began — a “command centre for missing persons” near Ben Gurion International Airport close to Lod in central Israel.

Mor. Strikovski, 42, arrived there on Sunday to report her missing mother, a 63-year-old resident of Kibbutz Beeri, who she believes is being held in Gaza.

“Yesterday, it was a really tough day,” Strikovski told AFP, recalling that Hamas fighters on Saturday killed several residents of Beeri and held dozens hostage before an overnight rescue operation by Israeli special forces.

“Today, I received a video (showing) that she was kidnapped,” she said. “My cousin … saw it on Telegram and asked me if I recognise her.”

Hamas “kidnapped her in her house with her husband and two neighbours,” according to Strikovski.

“We guess they are in Gaza, so I am here to report it,” she said, expressing hope the militants “will treat her well and that she will return safe.”

A series of videos on social media showed Hamas terrorists capturing Israeli hostages in terrifying scenes.

Harrowing footage showed Israeli Noa Argamani being abducted from southern Israel.

She screamed “don’t kill me” and stretched her arms out towards her boyfriend Avi Natan as she was carried away. She had been attending a festival before being captured.

Later footage showed her drinking from a water bottle in Gaza.

Another clip purportedly showed Hamas taking women and children hostage in a large cart being towed behind a vehicle.

The mother of German-Israeli woman Shani Louk, 22, who attended the rave party, appealed for help finding her after identifying Louk in a video showing militants in Gaza.

Israel’s ambassador to Britain said a British national “is in Gaza.” She did not identify the man or confirm if he was kidnapped, but the mother of Jake Marlowe, 26, said he had been providing security at the rave.

Adva Adar has learned from a video circulating on social media that her grandmother, 85-year-old Yaffa Adar also from Nir Oz, was kidnapped.

“Yesterday at about 8:00 (0500 GMT) we lost contact with her,” the granddaughter told reporters via video conference.

When army forces finally reached the house at around 5:00pm, it was “totally broken, burned to ashes, and she wasn’t there”, said Adva Adar.

“I can’t imagine how scared, how uncomfortable she is. She’s 85, sick, without her medicine. We don’t know where she is or if she has food or water.” Adva Adar, too, said “we haven’t heard anything yet” from the authorities. “Not even in our worst nightmares did we imagine this.”

‘Played dead’

Dozens of families arriving at the command centre Sunday were welcomed by social workers, before sharing with police officers any information they may have of their relatives, AFP correspondents said.

They were asked to provide personal items from which DNA samples can be extracted, like toothbrushes, shaving razors or used clothes.

At a nearby forensic lab, the samples are corroborated against a database with DNA extracted from dead bodies.

But with hundreds of confirmed deaths and dozens still unaccounted for, the process may take a long time, Shelly Harush, the police commander overseeing the operation, told reporters, urging patience.

Leaving the command centre, some people wept and embraced each other. Visibly shaken and exhausted, many refused to speak to the media.

Residents of the neighbouring city of Lod were waiting outside to offer drinks and food for the families, the AFP correspondents said.

The death toll from the conflict has surged above 1000, with officials reporting at least 413 deaths in Gaza and thousands more wounded across the war zone.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the nation was in for a “long and difficult” war.

“Israel was caught flat-footed by the unprecedented attack,” said Jonathan Panikoff, director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative. “I’ve heard multiple comparisons to 9/11, and many Israelis are struggling to understand how this could have happened.”

– With AFP