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Writer's pictureMelanie Preston

Not Just Names - Not Just Faces - on Day 400

It's puzzling.


Even the few people who come to Israel now take the moving walkway to the right of the rows of hostage pictures, instead of walking alongside them.


The rows of hostage pictures in Ben Gurion airport as you prepare to leave the country.


There is a row to the left and a row to the right if you walk instead of talking the moving walkway, and these pictures are endless, but they are faded.


I know how faded they are because I saw the note I wrote on Itay Svirsky's poster from March, when I left Israel the last time.


But how come only very few others are walking with me and stopping and looking? How come the majority are walking quickly and laughing and passing all of these beautiful faces to the right of them as if they are not to the left?


What exactly is wrong with them?


(Am I being judgmental?)


(Is it bad if I am?)


I told my friend tonight that even so many people in Israel don't care about the hostages and haven't been to the square, and she said that wasn't true, that all of her friends from all over the country have been at least once.


But it is true. I know plenty of people who live right in Tel Aviv who haven't "been able" to go, or who haven't had any interest to go.


It is just too hard, or they are just too busy.


But I really don't want to write much more, as I have a tendency to do. I want to show their faces and talk about who they are, as most I know at least a little about, and some I know a lot about...and some of their faces I know so well it's as if I've known them forever.


As we all should after 400 days.


400 DAYS alone and terrified - what if it were you or your loved one?

Keith Siegel of Chapel Hill, NC, was taken from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, along with his wife Aviva. She was released after 50 days and has spoken out tirelessly about the horrific conditions she and Keith endured together, and the abuse the young women continue to be subjected to. I met his incredible brother Lee this last trip and hope to learn more about the family and write a more comprehensive article about Keith in the near future.

Omri Miran, from Kibbutz Nachal Oz, was driven in his own car to Gaza. The picture below shows him with his beautiful family. His wife encountered terrorists who asked her to move from the safe room to a different room with her kids. She had enough time to tell her husband, as he was being taken hostage, not to try to "be a hero."

Omri Miran, Lishay Lavi, and one of their daughters. Photo: Ynet
Avinathan Or, taken to Gaza alongside his girlfriend Noa Argamani from the Nova Festival. Noa was rescued in June, but her boyfriend has still not been heard from.

Liri was last seen on a Telegram video on October 7 being kidnapped by Hamas.

Ofer Kalderon is the father of Erez and Shachar who were released at the end of last November. They miss him desperately. Their mother, Hadas Kalderon, fought tirelessly for her children to be released and continues to fight for their father. Erez, age 12, suffered from panic attacks prior to this war, so when I heard that he was one of the children taken hostage, I most worried about him. His sister Shachar, who was 16 at the time of her abduction, has been very vocal since her release about the traumatic experience and the need to release the hostages. Both siblings were released on the very last night of the five-day ceasefire at the end of November.


These next two young men are brothers. Eitan Horn is to my right, and his brother Iair Horn underneath this paragraph. One brother went to visit the other that horrific weekend, and both brothers were taken hostage, but this wasn't known for almost two months. There hadn't been a sign of any struggle on the home or blood - it had seemed like they just vanished, but after some hostages were released at the end of November 2023, the brothers' parents were informed that they were alive and together. I saw their elderly parents speaking in Kiryat Gat at a Saturday night rally to support the families, which have been ongoing every Saturday since the start of this endless and excruciating tragedy.


I did not yet know their story and couldn't believe they had two sons in captivity. The mother spoke slowly and carefully, with tiredness in her voice, telling the story, as her husband stood there, holding the posters with their pictures, high above his head, the entire time he spoke. It was incredibly powerful. I have since thought of this family often, thinking about how it must be to have two sons in there - and I just can't imagine.


The Bibas Family - taken in its entirety from Kibbutz Nir Oz - Mom (Shiri) and Dad (Yarden), and sons Ariel and Kfir in next photos. This entire family - has just been gone.

Ariel Bibas, taken at age 3 1/2, has since turned 5 in there. He loves Batman.

Kfir Bibas, taken at age nine months, so is nearly two-years-old by now.

Romi Gonen, whose sister Yarden just spoke at the Knesset on October 24th, railing that Romi could come home with a baby. Romi was kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival on October 7th, 2023.


Mothers of female hostages spoke powerfully to Knesset members recently about how bringing the hostages home spells "complete victory," playing on the words used throughout this war for every other military goal that has been achieved - all but one - bringing the hostages home. Read this article here.


Elkana Bohbot, is pictured to the left, in both his "hostage picture" as well as in a shot taken from Gaza from the day he arrived there. His look of terror is so extreme, that it's the image I remember of him whenever I see this hostage picture in Israel, and I specifically try to imagine how his days continued after such a horrific beginning. Hearing the interviews of the two men we rescued in June, alongside Noa Argamani, did not ease my concerns, as they remained on that floor and tied up for 30 days, and were then beaten and abused throughout their time there, their lives perpetually threatened. Today is Day 400 for Elkana, so add him to your thoughts and prayers.








Eli Sharabi, is one of two brothers taken from Kibbutz Be'eri, the place I have not only gotten to know very well, but just spent two weeks at. His brother Yossi Sharabi was also taken hostage, and murdered back in January, on the same day as hostage Itay Svirsky, who I had been in the middle of writing about. Itay had been the first profile I was writing about, when Hamas put up the pictures of three hostages - Itay, Yossi and Noa Argamani and asked their "fans" to guess who was dead, alive, or injured. Both men were determined dead on January 13th.


I more recently learned the story of Eli, one of three of Kibbutz Be'eri remaining 13 hostages not to be returned - but also not to be confirmed dead. There is hope he is still alive. However, the story gets far more tragic. Eli's beautiful wife Lianne, and both his teenage daughters, were murdered on October 7th, and from what I have read, when Eli comes home, he will learn all of this news about his wife, his daughters and his brother in captivity.

Be'eri Brothers Yossi and Eli Sharabi. Photo: Times of Israel

Agam Berger, a beautiful face difficult to see underneath all of this writing and love on this airport poster, was abducted from her army base in Nachal Oz on October 7th, along with several other young female soldiers. More than 200 days into the war, her family found a chilling passage in her diary, written in the days before she enlisted in the army.

"Do not confine me in any cage, neither spiritual nor physical," she wrote. Her mother, Meirav, told Ynet, that one of her greatest pleasures is drinking coffee, but in the days after October 7th, she stopped eating and drinking, and she not allowed herself to drink coffee again. She is saving this for when Agam returns. "I dream of the moment when we will sit by the sea drinking coffee. I do not intend to leave her for a moment."


Ohad Ben Ami was taken from Kibbutz Be'eri and is thought to be alive. His daughter Ella does speaking engagements all over Israel and does thousands of interviews. May he be brought home soon with all remaining hostages.

Tal Chaimi's family has been told he was killed on October 7th, but are still awaiting for his body to be returned to have a proper burial for him in Israel.

Sagui is an American-Israeli who was one of the first on Kibbutz Nir Oz to see the Hamas terrorists arriving and to warn the Kibbutz. He made sure his wife and children were in safe rooms as well as others on the kibbutz and returned to fight the terrorists, along with the rest of Nir Oz's security team. He was ultimately kidnapped to Gaza, His father Jonathan has been on American and Israeli television all year telling the story of his son, his family and his Kibbutz keeping the story and alive and hoping for a deal to get his son released from hell.

Emily Tehila Damari is a British-Israeli citizen who was abducted from her apartment in Kibbutz Kfar Aza in her own car. It is believed she was abducted alongside twins Gali and Ziv Berman. Kfar Aza has a "young generation" area, and out of 37 residents who reside here, 11 were murdered and seven were kidnapped, according to The Times of Israel.

Tal Shoham, with the beautiful smile, and the beautiful family - was also taken from Kibbutz Be'eri - and is also considered to be alive. His wife Adi and their two gorgeous children were also kidnapped on October 7th, but were thankfully released at the end of November. However, his young son has exchanged letters with the Pope since his release, and his young friends have made speeches about their friend's sadness about his dad still being in Hamas captivity.


In addition to this young family of four, a large number of extended family were also murdered, kidnapped and released, including the father of Tal's wife Adi and her brother Yuval. I came across a most gorgeous and heartbreaking tribute online to the father, about the difficulties of having to clean out his office at the Kibbutz Be'eri print after close to a year. What just this one family has been through, and continues to go through due to Tal's capture and ongoing agony, cannot be described. Please keep this family in your prayers.

Naama Levy, a girl seen in bloodied-at-the-crotch sweatpants being taken by Jeep on October 7th, is one of the many faces of October 7th. Her mom spoke in Hostage Square last week. Our hearts all break for her until she is returned home.

Omer, a fresh and innocent face. He was taken from the Nova Festival, and held with a friend for 50 days in a room packed with garbage. This friend was released and spoke of the extreme guilt he felt, leaving him behind. I've thought of Omer often, wondering if he has found another friend and if his conditions have improved or worsened. His parents have spoken regularly since the start. He is always seen in a bright yellow Brazilian football shirt. Please pray for Omer's safety and strength to continue.

"They've arrived, they have me," Doron sent in an audio message to her family and friends after a chaotic morning of texts back and forth, watching the terrorists all over her neighborhood of Kibbutz Kfar Aza. She also lived in an apartment in the "young people's quarters," where she worked as a veterinary nurse, according to the Times of Israel.


Abducted at age 30, she has been seen in Hamas propaganda videos since. Without a foreign passport, her family has not felt there are high hopes to get her out, though even having a foreign passport, has not helped many hostages, as the pressure from the world has not been what you would think, given the scale and barbarity of this attack.

The Nova party was Guy's first rave, which he looked forward to for months. His brother Gal arrived later in the morning, and they took a selfie and sent it to Mom, according to the Times of Israel. During the attack, they separated and Guy went with his friends when his brother Gal went back to his car. Gal managed to escape, but ultimately had to run for hours and hide in bushes, where he waited until he was saved by security forces.


Several hours later, the family found a video of Guy and his best friend being taken into Gaza. They were tied up and lying in a tunnel.

Daniela Gilboa was one of five female soldiers abducted from the Nachal Oz army base on October 7th. She was seen in a hostage video release in July 2023, where she begged the Israeli government to get her home. In the video she appeared relatively strong, but it was said to have been filmed 170 days prior.

Alon Ohel, his airport photo covered in yellow ribbons, is one of the hostages I know very well from my in-depth interview. Please read his comprehensive story here, based on my conversation in Israel with his incredible mother Idit. An extraordinary piano player, pianos have been placed all over the world in his honor, including in Hostage Square, where anyone can sit down and play. His mother's words about how crucial bringing the hostages home alive is in order for the state of Israel to survive as a nation is something I feel every Jewish person, both in Israel and abroad should read.

Or Levy, whose comprehensive interview with his incredible brother Michael can be read here, is worth the time to truly understand what this has done to all of society. Or's mistake was going with this wife to the party. It cost Eynav her life, and Or his freedom, and their then 2 1/2-year-old Almog had been asking for them ever since. Michael has three young daughters and a lovely wife who I met during our interview, and I have stayed in touch all year - please read their full story and keep this family in your hearts.


Itay Svirsky - may his memory be a blessing.


To help with that, I dedicated my website to his memory. You can see my business card stuck into his picture at the top of his poster, but you can't see my note to him from March as it is totally faded.


Itay Svirsky, a man I have heard so much about, but will never get to meet in person, because he was murdered in Gaza on January 13th, on Day 98 of this war.


He had gone to visit his family and friends in Kibbutz Be'eri, and was staying with his mother when their home was attacked. The door was completely blown off and the home was destroyed and burned. He watched the brutal murder of his mom, before he was dragged to Gaza. His father was also killed in a different house, but people don't think he knows that.


His tough-as-nails sister Merav was left to cope with the loss of two parents and also to fight for her brother's safe return, which she did tirelessly until learning of his death, and is still doing to get his body back, as well as to help get back all of the other hostages.


On this Day 400, may we all see these names and faces, and look at them, and think of them, and understand that these are only 29 of the 101 waiting to be brought home.


****

In case you want to help:


Melanie Preston is a writer who brought herself by herself to Israel in the first days after October 7th to tell the stories of the hostages, their families and the impact of this war on society. Having made Aliyah when she was younger, this war brought her "home" again. This is a project of the heart, and she has not been paid. To support her work, please subscribe to her website, share her articles, and if you feel called to do so, donate to her GoFundMe to help her stay in Israel, where she plans to write a book about how the October 7th attack got her back to Israel, and led her to Kibbutz Be'eri.


I will close with Ha Tikva from Hostage Square in Tel Aviv - Shabbat Shalom.



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