The families of Israeli hostages Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy in Tel Aviv on Tuesday implored Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to finalize a hostage deal as they released chilling pictures of their daughters taken shortly after their abduction by Hamas terrorists.
“Karina is my younger daughter. She is only 19 and she is in Gaza. On October 7, half of my heart was abducted and it is missing since,” said Karina Ariev’s father, Albert.
One image shows Liri, Karina, Agam, and Daniella, all kidnapped from the Israel Defense Forces Field Observers base in Nahal Oz, lying on thin mattresses next to a portrait of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, inside what appeared to be a children’s bedroom.
The young women, garbed in pajamas, some bloodstained from injuries sustained during their abduction, stare vacant and exhausted at the camera.
Another image shows Naama Levy, alone, the right side of her face bruised to the extent that she cannot open that eye.
The pictures were taken from a video that Israeli authorities showed families about a month ago. They only recently permitted the stills to be published.
“These 120 hostages are real people, they have a face, a name, a life, and we wanted to bring the stories of these lovely girls, of my daughter, to the public,” Naama Levy’s father, Yoni told JNS.
“We want the world to see their faces, look into their eyes, see their humanity. By releasing videos or stills, we hope to bring about the sense of urgency that is required to get them released immediately,” he said.
Netanyahu, who is scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden at the White House on July 22, ahead of the premier’s address to a joint session of Congress on July 24, invited Naama’s mother, Ayelet Levy Shachar, to join him on his trip to the U.S.
“I told him that I was not comfortable and could not go with him until I see that the negotiations regarding the release of Naama are coming to completion,” Levy Shachar said.
“Look into her eyes, prime minister, she is my daughter. Meet with us immediately so that we can make her voice heard. It’s not the time for flights, it’s the time for a deal. Let’s close a deal first and take off afterward,” she continued.
“Until then, I am staying in Israel and will continue to fight to save my Naama,” Levy Shachar said.
Orly Gilboa, the mother of Daniella, emphasized at the event the pain of sharing these images, knowing that upon their return, the girls will have to deal with the repercussions.
“We do it with all the pain and the understanding that when the girls return, they will have to cope with images and footage in the media. It’s killing me but we need to do this for this deal not to elude us,” Gilboa said.
Lack of sleep and heightened anxiety
At the press event in Tel Aviv, the father of Liri Albag, Eli, fainted and was rushed off the stage to the hallway by a handful of volunteers.
“It’s very hard to see my daughter with such sad eyes. We only shared the pictures because that’s what they gave us, but in the video, we hear the fear in her voice,” Shira, Liri Albag’s mother, told JNS.
Shay, Liri’s sister, revealed to JNS that their father’s fainting spells were a regular occurrence stemming from lack of sleep and heightened anxiety.
“This is our physical and emotional state. Every day it gets worse,” Shay, 23, said.
“We haven’t slept for nine months. My father sees his little daughter in these pictures and he can’t do anything, he feels powerless. He is not succeeding, not he and not us,” added Roni, 26, the eldest of the siblings.
Shira confirmed that she sees in current negotiations “an opportunity we have not seen before” to be reunited with her daughter.
Last week, the IDF targeted Mohammad Deif, the Hamas “military” chief, and Rafa’a Salameh, the commander of the terrorist group’s Khan Younis Brigade, near Gaza’s Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone and the city of Khan Younis.
“Our army has again become a very strong one and succeeded in deterring Hamas. We understand that the terror group agreed to be flexible on his demand for ending the war,” Shira told JNS.
“Hamas wants a ceasefire; they need it and we need our hostages home. After nine months, we no longer want to hear why it’s impossible, we need to hear why it’s possible,” she said.
“There is no way for the country to rise again if the hostages do not come back home. This is our moral duty. We do not leave anyone behind,” Shira said.
(According to U.S. intelligence, Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar is being pressed by the terrorist group’s “military” commanders to accept a ceasefire deal and end the war.)
A delegation led by Mossad chief David Barnea is scheduled to depart for Doha this week but is waiting for a Qatari invitation, an Israeli official told Ynet on Monday.
The official said that Netanyahu insists on continuing the military pressure on Hamas and is sticking to his red lines in the talks, stressing that it was the crucial time to bring as many live hostages home as possible at the lowest cost to Israel’s security.
