An Israeli ground invasion of Gaza – which some observers believe could come any day – could lead to the death or injury of abductees. However, an even greater concern for the families of those abducted is that Hamas will begin executing the hostages – something they have already threatened to do.
– I don’t think anyone in Israel can sleep at night, you only think about what they are going through over there, says Tair Kowalsky, aunt of Roni Eshel, a 19-year-old conscript who was taken away from a military base near the border with Israel.
An unbearable wait for news
On the main road into the small village of Tzur Yitzhak sits a huge screen: “Save Roni,” it says in large letters in front of a picture of Roni Eshel.
She had just started her second year as a conscript at a military base near the Gaza border when Hamas attacked. Many soldiers were killed and a building burned to the ground, but no trace of Roni has been found. The family assumes that she was taken by Hamas and taken to Gaza, an area just a few kilometers from the military base and also a place that someone like Roni would normally never visit.
Now the whole family, with Roni’s aunts, uncles and cousins, is sitting and trying to support each other.
– This is the worst thing that has happened to the Jewish people since the Holocaust, says aunt Tair to TV4 Nyheterna.
– We just want her back, she continues.
Time is running out
In a large conference room in central Tel Aviv, dozens of people are sitting and going through all the clues they can find to try to locate missing people, or get some sort of information about where abducted Israelis in Gaza may be being held.
It is a civilian project, but any information that is believed to be important is passed on to the Israeli military and police.
The most important source of information is video clips that Hamas itself has posted online. There you can find clues: Terry Newman, who usually runs a company that manufactures medical equipment, explains to TV4 Nyheterna that they are looking for digital markers that can make it possible to identify a missing person, and maybe even understand where the person is kept.
Ground offensive last hope
For security reasons, TV4 Nyheterna is not allowed to enter the room, but Newman sends a video that showed frantic work. According to him, the volunteers also use AI technology to find clues.
But with each passing day, the families’ worries grow. Hamas has threatened to execute kidnapped people, and Romi, who was taken from a military base, may be more vulnerable than the civilians taken.
For Romi’s family, a land invasion is now a last hope for her to come home.
– We trust that the Israeli army will do what they can to bring them home. But we definitely don’t trust the terrorists to release them in any way, says Tair.