Eve Young
Jerusalem Post, Feb. 20, 2025
“You always think [about], what will happen and: Where is she ? Maybe she is in the tunnels, maybe she is in some room, maybe they made her into a prostitute, maybe she is being raped, maybe she is being abused.”
As more and more hostages are released by Hamas, slivers of information about the previously unknown fates of some hostages still in captivity have come to light.
As the end of the first phase in the deal between Hamas and Israel approaches, and Israel anticipates the return of slain as opposed to living hostages, public attention has increasingly shifted to the realities of the families still waiting for their loved ones.
Some families have been told by Israel’s intelligence organizations that their relatives are dead and are still waiting for the chance to bury their loved ones and the closure that comes with this. Others don’t have any new information about the fate of their captive loved ones.
Speaking at a rally last month, Ofir Sharabi, whose father Yossi was killed in captivity and whose body is still held hostage, touched on the anguish these families feel.
“The only way I can close this circle is by them bringing my father back, so we can [all] sit by his grave and cry together,” she said. …SOURCE