TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — As the weeks wear on and new horrors from the Israel-Hamas war dominate TV screens, families whose loved ones were killed or abducted by militants in the terrifying Oct. 7 raids on southern Israel say it is their mission to ensure the hostages are not forgotten.
Those whose relatives remain in Hamas captivity, hidden in Gaza’s tunnels or exposed to the threat of Israel’s unprecedented bombardment of the besieged strip, have become tireless advocates for securing the hostages’ release.
“My whole life stopped,” said Keren Scharf Schem, whose 21-year-old daughter Mia, a French-Israeli citizen, was seized by Hamas gunmen during the assault on a freewheeling outdoor music and dance festival in southern Israel. Over 260 attendees were killed.
Giroa Almog, right, Varda and David Goldstein as well as Omri Almog, hold up portraits of Omri’s sister, 49-year-old Chen Goldstein and her three children, 9-year-old Tal, 11-year-old Gal and 17-year-old Agam Almog-Golstein in a hotel in Tel Aviv, Israel, for evacuated Israelis, Monday, Oct. 30, 2023. The Israeli mother and her three children were abducted by Hamas militants from their home in the southern kibbutz of Kfar Aza during the militant group’s unprecedented attack on Oct. 7 that resulted in the killing over 1,400 people and abduction of over 220. The assault also killed two other members of the Almog-Goldstein family, Nadav and Yam. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
“My every waking hour is spent going, going, going, doing everything and anything I can to bring her back,” Scharf Schem told The Associated Press. “When I stop or sit down, I cannot breathe. At night, I take some pills to sleep a few hours and then I wake up and force myself to go through it all again.”
As public outrage mounted over the government’s failure to protect its citizens, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the appointment of Gal Hirsch, a retired general, as coordinator for the captives and missing. The country’s security forces opened a center for families to register missing relatives, asking them to bring photographs and items from which authorities can gather samples of DNA. Photographs of hostages are everywhere: on billboards, on street lamps, on empty walls.
Hamas militants have released four Israeli captives following negotiations mediated by Egypt and Qatar. And Israel said Monday it had rescued a 19-year-old abducted Israeli soldier, Pvt. Ori Megidish, during a ground operation in Gaza — the first such rescue since the war began.
The Ariev family, parents Albert and Ira and their daughter Sasha, hold up a portrait of young soldier Karina Ariev in their family house in Jerusalem, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Ariev, an Israeli soldier, was abducted by Hamas militants from her base during her mandatory military service during the militant group’s unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that resulted in the killing of 1,400 people and the abduction of over 220. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg).
News of the rescue left the families of hostages caught in a paradox: in continuing pain while grasping onto hope.
That contradiction tore right through members of the Goldstein Almog family, who evacuated to a Tel Aviv hotel after their Kfar Aza kibbutz was devastated in the raids. Hamas gunmen killed triathlon athlete Nadav Goldstein Almog and his 20-year-old daughter, Yam. The family said their remains were identified only because of Goldstein Almog’s crutches — from a recent injury — and Yam’s unique tattoos.
But hope for the survival of Goldstein Almog’s wife, Chen, and their other three children ages 9-17 who were abducted and taken to Gaza, is keeping the family from becoming paralyzed by despair.
“I’m not imagining where they are now,” said Omri Almog, Nadav’s 51-year-old brother. “We try to stay positive.”
When asked how, Almog said a single thought helped him to carry on.
“I think about the moment that they all come home,” he said. “I imagine what kind of joy I’ll feel when we are all together again.”
Evgenia Kozlov holds up a portrait of her 27-year-old son, Andrey Kozlov, while Kozlov’s girlfriend Jenifer Master stands behind her in their family house in Rishon Lezion, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. Kozlov, a Russian citizen, was abducted by Hamas militants from the “Nova” Music Festival near Kibbutz Re’im during the militant group’s unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that resulted in the killing of 1,400 people and the abduction of over 220. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Keren Scharf Schem holds up a portrait of her daughter, 21-year-old Mia Schem, in the family house in Mazor, central Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. Schem, an Israeli and French citizen, was abducted by Hamas militants from the Nova Music Festival near Kibbutz Re’im, Israel, and was taken into Gaza during the group’s unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that resulted in the killing of 1,400 people and abduction of over 220. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Hila Levy, sitting beside her husband Michael, holds up a portrait of his brother, 33-year-old Or Levy, in the family house in Ganei Tikva, Israel, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Levy, an Israeli citizen, was abducted by Hamas militants from the “Nova” Muisc Festival near Kibbutz Re’im, while his wife was killed by Hamas fighters during the group’s unprecedented attack on Oct. 7 that resulted in the killing over 1,400 people and abduction of over 220.(AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Chanan Choen, along with his wife, Edna Choen, hold up portraits of his sister, 77-year-old Margalit Moses, and her husband, 79-year-old Gadi Moses in their family home in Lakhish in central Israel, Monday, Oct. 30, 2023. The elderly Moses couple, both Israeli citizens, were abducted by Hamas fighters from their home in the kibbutz of Nir Oz during the group’s unprecedented attack on Oct. 7 that resulted in the killing over 1,400 people and abduction of over 220. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
CORRECTS CONTEXT - Sigi and Momi Cohen, flanked on the couch by their children Yuval, Michal, and Tamar, hold up a portrait of their 27-year-old son, Eliya Cohen, in the family house in the village of Tzur Hadassah, Israel, Monday, Oct. 30, 2023. Cohen, an Israeli citizen, was abducted by Hamas militants from the “Nova” Music Festival near Kibbutz Re’im, Hamas fighters during the group’s attack on Oct. 7 that resulted in the killing of over 1,400 people and the abduction of over 220. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre in Jerusalem contributed to this report.