Israelis held hostage in Gaza - part 4

[StillHELDhostage4]

New thread.

Went to post on thread 3 and it's full.

Sad 4th thread and hostages still held by Hamas and others.

The tunnels sound so terrible. What could be worse. The only hope is that they did not spend the whole time of their captivity in this particularly narrow, hellish section.

I cannot understand why some people in the government called for starving the Palestinians in Gaza knowing this would also mean the hostages had less food.

Do you have a link please to this report? It us a bit different to an earlier one from 2nd Sept from Haaretz:

In this report below, Haaretz said a source had told them the autopsy had revealed that though the hostages’ physical condition was frail it did not indicate extreme emaciation or starvation, and that had they not been shot they would have survived; and the same source said there were no other signs of physical trauma on their bodies.

From Haaretz

HOSTAGES/CEASE-FIRE: The IDF announced on Sunday morning that it has found the bodies of six hostages kidnapped by Hamas and taken to Gaza on October 7: Almog Sarusi, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino and Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

• IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that the six were killed by Hamas shortly before the army arrived at their location, according to initial assessments, adding that the bodies were found in a tunnel in Rafah, roughly one kilometer from the tunnel in which hostage Kaid Farhan al-Qadi was found last week.

• A source told Haaretz that findings from the autopsies of the six hostages indicate that they had all been shot in the head, adding that while their physical condition was frail, it did not indicate extreme emaciation or starvation, and that had they not been shot, they would have survived. The source added that no other signs of physical trauma were found on the bodies.

I have found this from The Times of Israel
relating to what you said Sababatoo
www.timesofisrael.com/slain-hostages-struggled-with-their-killers-in-final-moments-idf-probe-said-to-find/

It fills me with horror. I hope their families are shielded from it.

Unbearable for their families. I don't know how you live with such knowledge.

Appalling, hamas are barbaric, inhumane.

Rest in peace.

Haaretz brief news
today 9th September

• HOSTAGES/CEASE-FIRE: Esther Buchshtab, the mother of Yagev Buchschtab, taken hostage on October 7 and killed in Hamas captivity, said an autopsy report she received on Sunday shows that he was executed after Israeli forces approached the area of the tunnel he was held in. "This is what happens with military pressure, military pressure does not bring back the hostages alive – it kills them," she said. "I don't think the army is to blame for this, it's the government's policy, the army does what it's told. We see it repeating in another operation and another operation."

• Elhanan Danino, whose son Ori was also among the six hostages whose bodies were retrieved last week, confronted PM Netanyahu when he and his wife Sara came to meet his family. In recordings published by Israel's public radio, Danino can be heard telling Netanyahu: "I don't really know if there was a deal or but, but forgive me, it all happened on your watch. My son was murdered in a tunnel you built on your watch. You have been in power for many years, the concrete and the money entered on your watch."

• U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to convene his national security team on Monday to discuss the current state cease-fire talks, sources familiar with the matter told Haaretz, after U.S. officials told Qatari and Egyptian officials over the past several days that Hamas' new demands concerning the hostage-prisoner exchange goes beyond previous agreements.

• Hamas official Izzat Al-Risheq said that "if pressure is not put on [PM] Netanyahu to implement what was agreed on in [U.S. President Joe] Biden's proposal, the hostages won't see the light of day," adding that Hamas refuses to restart negotiations with Netanyahu's new demands as the basis for a proposal. Al-Risheq also claimed reports in Israel and the U.S. about new demands from Hamas are a lie "and an attempt to evade the implementation of an agreement and to sabotage negotiations."

• The IDF presented the families of the six murdered hostages whose bodies were retrieved last week from Gaza with findings from the location where they were held. A relative of one of the six told Haaretzthat the findings showed the hostages were unable to stand upright in the tunnel where they were held, and defensive wounds were found on their bodies.

• At the site, the relative said, snacks, a generator, and a flashlight were found, along with ventilation openings, but no proper ventilation system,adding that despite the poor condition of the bodies, the families understood that "what caused their deaths were the terrorists' bullets due to military pressure."

• The families of the seven American hostages held in Gaza called on ABC's David Muir and Linsey Davis to question the presidential candidates in Tuesday night's debate about what they would do to bring their loved ones home, if elected president.

Haaretz

HOSTAGES/CEASE-FIRE: Veteran peace activist Gershon Baskin, who helped broker the 2011 deal to release Gilad Shalit, claimed on Sunday that Hamas had agreed to a one-phase agreement in which it would release all the hostages in exchange for a large number of Palestinian security prisoners within three weeks. Baskin said Netanyahu's office had received a text of the offer, as had the mediator governments.

• Yehiel Yehud, whose daughter Arbel is held hostage in Gaza, told a Knesset panel that members of Netanyahu's coalition told him they would have "burned down the building" if they were in his position, and accused the premier of blocking a hostage deal "time and time again" to "keep his position."

It took a while to re-find this thread as it is so far down the list now. It is terrible if hope for the hostages is fading.

People havent forgotten the hostages, I think a lot of the regular contributors to this thread have been driven off this board.

Never forgotten @ScrollingLeaves . I light a Shabbat candle for them weekly, and we think and talk about them constantly. Unfortunately there’s no news to share and deals are seemingly increasingly remote. It’s in Gd’s hands, and all I can do is pray.

I took these pictures last week in Ben Gurion.

Thank you for answering @EllaDisenchanted
That light you light and keep going on this thread to remind everyone must never go out. These constantly fading deals are awful. I cannot imagine how desperate their families must be in the face of this lack of news.

They have 😥

I can see why. Unrelenting bashing. Twisting of words. Assuming things that haven't been said. Sadly, many threads have just a few contributing so many are pointless.

This thread is still here for updates on the hostages. Almost a year has gone since they were kidnapped.

Haaretz

'Anyone Can Imagine How They'd Feel if Their Granddaughter Spent a Year in Hamas' Lairs'

Shaul Levy, the 78-year-old grandfather of Israeli hostage Naama Levy, is protesting at the roundabout near his home every morning, where he says he feels the support of passersby

Shaul Levy, the grandfather of Naama Levy, has been fighting for her return home every day for nearly a year. Naama, a 20-year-old spotter from Ra'anana, was kidnapped from her post at the Nahal Oz military base and has been held captive by Hamas for 354 days.

Her grandfather goes there to protest for her return every morning.

💔 I hope he knows Naama is not forgotten by any of us. Heartbreaking

Yes, it is heartbreaking. Evidently he has so much love for her. I hope the feeling of that love has never left her no matter what.

And many of us here in the UK do still remember them.

https://m.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-821496
(extract from the article)
“"I know that Matan is held with less than 10 other hostages that are also alive, and the fear is great," she said in the interview.
Hostage Matan Zangauker is in relatively okay condition, as healthy as possible, and is being held underground with less than 10 other living hostages, his mother, Einav Zangauker, said in an interview on Reshet Bet Tuesday morning.
"I know that Matan is held with less than 10 other hostages that are also alive, and the fear is great," she said in the interview.
Zangauker receives regular updates on Matan's status, she said, confirming that the information about him is from a recent update.
"Hence the urgency to save those who are alive," she explained, adding that there is also an obligation to bring the fallen back for burial and to give closure to their families.”

It's a small comfort that regular updates are received. Hopefully will be released soon

I tried to find this thread yesterday for an update. I did then go looking online and found the hostages' families saying they feel there are fewer hostages left alive than stated publicly.😢 They said they get told about signs of life. Hopefully that's not accurate and they are alive.

I couldn't find the article I read. It wasn't the JP one.
It's awful to think it's coming up to year of captivity and I hope they find freedom soon.

I agree, nearly a year. It's awful.

I can't begin to imagine what the hostages and their families are going through.😢

I nearly stopped psoting after the insanely biased moderation on here the other day. A poster had her post deleted after she rightly pointed out that it was gaslighting to tell Israeli posters that it's perfectly normal to live under Hezbollah missiles.
I had a post deleted when, in response to a poster writing "The Palestinians have Allah on their side" I wrote "The Israelis have the Almightly on their side". Same same, right? But no.
Mumsnt clarified by email that it was inflammatory to write this about Israelis but absolutely A-OK to write it about Palestinians.

I wonder who they employ to do their moderation - did Nasrallah and Sinwar pick them?

Grim and concerning to read:

The Times of Israel about the hostages.
P M Netanyahu thinks half are alive.

Excerpt,
Speaking to members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, the prime minister also said that only some half of the 97 hostages abducted on October 7 are alive, Hebrew media reports said and a committee member confirmed to The Times of Israel. “We estimate that about half of the hostages are alive,” he was quoted by Channel 12 as saying.

But further on the article says says,

Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, on Monday contradicted Netanyahu’s reported assessment, telling Army Radio that the number is much lower. “We know, the families, that the number is far smaller than the number cited by the prime minister,” she said.
www.timesofisrael.com/pm-says-hes-weighing-plan-to-lay-siege-to-north-gaza-believes-half-of-hostages-alive/

Its almost as if the mods don't understand the Abrahamic religions eh?

Wow. I do wonder with some of the awful Israel bashing posts. Some appear to blame all Israeli people for the leadership yet little accountability for terrorist, even suggesting they have no choice 🙄
Christianity can also be criticised but not Islam. Don't mention that most of these problems are caused by Islamic extremists, which is true (not non extremists) and a growing problem in the middle east.