Family Members Advocate for Their Loved Ones Abducted by Hamas

Family members and close friends of five Israelis who had been abducted by Hamas arrived in Los Angeles to raise awareness and hopefully contribute to the release of their loved ones. On a Saturday afternoon, Kaye Popofsky Kramer hosted an intimate gathering in her Hancock Park backyard. Attendees, included influencers who heard firsthand accounts of the emotional challenges faced by those with family members held by a terror organization in Gaza.

Noga Gur-Arye, whose nephew Alon Ohel, 22, was kidnapped from the Nova music festival recounted the moment she learned about Alon’s abduction. “At 9 a.m. on Saturday the phone started ringing and didn’t stop. I was sleeping but finally answered. It was my mom who told me that Israel was at war, and Alon was at a festival near Gaza. I immediately called my sister, she said that the last contact they had with him was at 8:08 am, and there had been no communication since.”

After connecting with Alon’s friend, who survived the terror attack, the family learned that Alon had been kidnapped. “Apparently, Alon and a group of 30 people sought refuge in a bomb shelter. Unfortunately, Hamas discovered them and threw grenades into the shelter six or seven times. Despite someone’s efforts – including Alon’s – to throw out the grenades, one exploded, leaving only seven survivors.”

Hamas terrorists instructed the survivors to exit the shelter. Alon was abducted along with Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who had lost his arm in the explosion. A video filmed by Hamas captured the distressing moment when Alon was dragged by his hair to a pickup truck. “It’s been 56 days since then, and there has been no sign of Alon or Hersh,” shared his aunt. 

Amir, Noa Argamani’s roommate was next to speak. “From the first time I met her, I knew we would be good friends.” 15 years ago Amir lost his brother while he was serving in an IDF combat unit. In the current conflict, he lost three close friends and two more friends, Noa and her boyfriend Avinatan, were kidnapped.

“At 8:30 a.m., I received a text from Noa saying, ‘They are shooting at us,’ followed by, ‘I’m sending you my location.’ Her boyfriend sent us a picture of them in hiding and asked for help.”

Two hours after receiving the last text, Amir saw a video showing Noa on a motorcycle driven by Hamas, screaming, “Please don’t kill me.” Meanwhile, her boyfriend was led to Gaza on foot.

“Noa is an only child to her parents. Her mom, who is from China, is battling cancer and has only a few weeks to live. Her only wish is to see her daughter alive again, and it’s agonizing to witness the world’s silence on this matter.”

Since the start of the war in Gaza, 87 Israelis have been released, but 137 people are still held captive. The initial focus was on freeing elderly women, children, and their mothers, with young men given lower priority. This has left many Israeli families frustrated and fearful for the safety of their loved ones.

Testimonies from those released reveal harsh conditions, with limited provisions —often just one pita bread and occasionally a small amount of cheese. Some days, they went without any food. 

Testimonies from those released reveal harsh conditions, with limited provisions — often just one pita bread and occasionally a small amount of cheese. Some days, they went without any food. Towards the end of their captivity, survivors testified that the rations dwindled further, forcing them to share a single pita bread to ensure everyone had a bite.

Ilay David learned of his brother Evyatar, 22, being kidnapped through a text message from an unidentified number. “Until that moment, we were uncertain about whether he was kidnapped or dead. We knew he was at the music festival and spent hours wondering if he managed to escape. The video we received showed my brother shirtless on the ground with his hands behind his back. He was bitten and looked very scared.” 

M.R, who prefers to keep his identity private due to his past position in the Israeli army lives in California and was on vacation in Israel when the war broke out. “I served in Gaza and I know Arabic fluently. Once I heard about what happened, my friends from my unit and I drove to Nahal Oz, one of the Kibbutz where Hamas entered.”

M.R.’s phone was bombarded with text messages requesting help from friends and individuals aware of his army service. As they approached Nahal Oz, they were confronted with a scene reminiscent of a war apocalypse. A young girl lay dead under a car, burned vehicles, and houses riddled with bullets.  With hundreds of Hamas terrorists in the area, M.R., dressed in civilian clothes, pretended to be one of them. He shouted in Arabic, warning them that women  were shooting from the houses. “I told them to stay away. I knew that according to their belief, being shot by a woman would prevent them from reaching heaven and obtaining the 72 virgins they were promised.” 

Carmel Gat, 39, an occupational therapist was abducted along with her sister in-law Yarden Roman. Yarden’s husband Alon and their daughter Geffen managed to escape before they were taken to Gaza. Carmel’s mother Kineret, was murdered.  Merav, Carmel’s friend shared her story; “After 52 days, some hostages were released, including Yarden. We heard from other released hostages that she practiced yoga with the children and kept their spirits up. We also heard horrifying accounts about the hostages’ experiences there. It’s crucial that they are all released as soon as possible.”

Amit Shem Tov spoke about his brother, Omer, who turned 21 in captivity. “That morning after Hamas sent rockets and began their attack, Omer called us and said he was heading back home, but when my mom called him at 8 a.m., he said he couldn’t make it out. My father had his location and noticed he was heading toward Gaza. He tried calling to warn him he was going the wrong direction, but there was no reply.”

At 8 p.m. the family received a message from Omer’s friend and a video which confirmed their worst fears. Omer had been kidnapped. “I didn’t want to watch it at first, but my mom did and she immediately started crying. He was in a pickup truck, his hands tied behind his back.”

Their parents, Sheli and Malki Shem Tov, promptly established the Hostage Missing Forum, which is dedicated to bringing back the hostages, raising awareness, and supporting the families in their time of need. 

Gilad Lederer, the CEO of a technology company, volunteered from the outset to assist and accompanied the families to Los Angeles. In the few days since their arrival in L.A., they have given interviews to local TV stations and continue to recount their story.  Lederer said that Israel is fighting on two fronts — one against Hamas and the other for the world’s opinion. He remarked, “It’s sad that we find ourselves needing to be heard and explain what happened. It’s sad that we need to explain that it’s wrong kidnap children from their beds and men and women from a music festival. We don’t understand why some people tear down posters of those kidnapped from walls or write ‘Occupiers’ instead of ‘Kidnapped’ and it’s shocking that, to this day, the U.N. has not condemned Hamas.”

For more information about the kidnapped Israeli citizens, please visit: https://stories.bringthemhomenow.net