Gilad’s son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren were taken hostage
- author, Lucy Williamson
- scroll, From BBC News in Israel
Kibbutz Be’eri is located 5 kilometers from Gaza, but it has never seemed to be the front line of the conflict. Now, it seems. Its empty streets are a picture of hatred.
In the house where Hamas held seven members of Gilad Korngold’s family hostage, it is difficult to find any trace of family life.
There are holes in the walls made by machine guns, metal doors scarred by bullets, collapsed ceilings, and rooms destroyed by fire.
“look at this!” Gilad says, holding back tears, as he enters the house. “Look how much they hate us”
door the basement He resisted the bullets, but the steel windows were shattered and his family disappeared. Among the hostages were his son Tal, his daughter-in-law Adi, his eight-year-old grandson Naveh, and his three-year-old granddaughter Yahil.
It is the first time he has seen the house belonging to Uday’s parents since the attack.
“It will take several generations to rebuild [o kibutz]He says: If it is rebuilt. “I don’t think a lot of people will come back.”
Not only were homes destroyed, but also the Israeli government’s promise to residents that it could keep them safe, even five kilometers from Palestinian land run by a group bent on destroying Israel.
“It was an illusion,” Gilad said. “For 25 years, and they are long. We thought we were safe here, that we were strong. But after that, I hope they wake up and start another strategy.”
The family home was completely destroyed
In light of this scenario, the pressures on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are clearly visible.
Netanyahu and his armed forces face a difficult task in rebuilding confidence in Israel’s ability to protect its people.
At the same time, public pressure is mounting on the government to ensure the return of more than 200 hostages being held in Gaza, including Gilad’s son, his daughter-in-law and two of his grandchildren.
As negotiations continued, Hamas indicated that it might release the hostages in exchange for the release of all Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.
Many family members of the hostages, including Gilad, say Israel must do whatever it takes.
But the man Israel holds responsible for that attack — Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar — was released 12 years ago in a prisoner exchange.
Netanyahu has already held talks with the families of some hostages about Israel’s intense bombing of Gaza, and insisted that there was no conflict between the government’s priorities of destroying Hamas and protecting the hostages.
“The key is the degree of stress,” he told families last week. “The more pressure, the more opportunities.”
But many families need convincing.
Gilad said he and his family stayed up all night last week while Israel intensified its air strikes on Gaza, waiting for any news about the hostages there. It was a “terrible night,” he says.
Public opinion seems to favor the position of the hostages’ families. More people are participating in the demonstrations they are organizing after a massive media campaign.
An opinion poll conducted by a major Israeli newspaper shortly before the ground invasion of Gaza indicated that less than a third of people supported the invasion – down from more than two-thirds the previous week.
During this period, Hamas released four hostages, two by two. The unspoken message planted in the minds of many was that there could be more liberalization.
But early indications are that public opinion is deeply divided over whether to release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of hostages.
In Tel Aviv, a hostage honor clock marks how long the kidnappers have spent in captivity. Protests take place there during the day, and at night, candlelight vigils are held.
Everywhere, posters bearing the faces of people held hostage by Hamas cover all the walls.
In Be’eri, the sounds of the ongoing Israeli bombing of Gaza can be heard from the street every minute or two.
In the middle of what had been a garden, now filled with ash, Gilad sees his grandson’s soccer ball untouched under a layer of sandy soot.
