'Our job is not done': Leander man hopeful, determined after Hamas frees 3 relatives

Dori Roberts' world stopped Oct. 7.

For 48 days, Roberts said he waited for the release of five family members in Israel, kidnapped by Hamas that day, an attack that also left his aunt dead. Roberts checked the Israeli news, checked family group chats, advocated for their release and hoped and prayed.

Roberts spoke this weekend with the Austin American-Statesman, a day after the Israel Defense Forces confirmed that Hamas had released three of his five relatives — his cousin Doron Katz Asher, 34, and her daughters, Raz, 4, and Aviv, 2.

“Only at that point, I was able to finally let myself go emotionally and understand they are home, they are safe,” Roberts said. “It was one of the most joyful days in a while. It gives us a lot of hope.”

Roberts, who grew up in Israel and now lives in Leander, waited for word from the Israeli forces that the hostages had been turned over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, then traveled into Egypt before crossing into Israel via helicopter, where Israeli leaders released their names.

"It's a very emotional roller coaster for all those families who still have hostages held in Gaza,” he said. “We let ourselves rejoice and find those happy moments and let our heart, like, breathe a little bit and celebrate this moment. But the next days we're back to the mission of making sure that all the hostages" are freed.

Thirteen Israeli hostages were released Friday as part of negotiations that paused fighting in the Gaza strip for four days. All 13 were women and children, The New York Times reported. Ten Thai hostages and one Filipino hostage were also released, as were 39 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.

The hostage release Saturday was delayed for several hours, but after two mediators resolved disagreements between Israel and Hamas, 17 additional hostages were released late in the day. More than 200 hostages remain in Israel, including two other relatives, his aunt's partner of 20 years, Gadi Mozes, 79, and Roberts' half cousin Ravid Katz, 51.

Mozes, is an expert and educator in agriculture. Roberts described Mozes as a “wonderful person,” always there for him. Roberts has known his half cousin Ravid, 51, since he was a kid and described him as a “big brother."

“Oct. 7 absolutely changed my life, drastically,” Roberts told the Statesman. “The entire day became from a shock to try to understand what can I do?”

In the Dell Jewish Community Center in North Austin, Roberts sat down with the American-Statesman to discuss his experience advocating for the hostages and his family in Israel, as well as being Israeli in Austin right now.

His family’s story

Roberts’ cousins were visiting his aunt in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 6 to celebrate the end of Sukkot, a Jewish celebration of the fall harvest. With the two little ones, they decided to spend the night at the last minute, Roberts said.

“They never thought they’re going to wake up at 6:30 that morning to a completely different reality,” he said.

About 8:30 a.m. Israel time, militants entered their home, Roberts said. His aunt’s partner, Mozes, trying to protect the girls, exited the safe room to offer them money and was kidnapped by the attackers. The other family members were soon kidnapped, too.

Roberts said Hamas also kidnapped his aunt, Efrat Katz, 67. Her body was found by the Gaza border days later. For weeks, he had only a TikTok video posted by Hamas of his cousins entering Gaza, proving they were alive.

“It's looked like a war zone,” Roberts said of the community. “An ongoing massacre at this point, completely out of control.”

Roberts’ cousin’s husband in Israel instantly went on the news, begging for help to rescue them. Roberts, desperate to help, decided to join him.

“I realized I'll be able to kind of give them a little break at night when they're going to sleep, and I'll be the one to represent the family here in the U.S. side, doing all the evening segments,” he said. “And it worked. I started to get more and more requests.”

For weeks Roberts has talked to dozens of reporters across North America advocating for ― pleading for ― the release of hostages. He joined a delegation of Israeli family members and survivors at the Dell Jewish Community Center last week, telling his family’s story to an Austin audience.

On Friday, he was at the University of Texas stringing lights for Longhorn Lights after the news broke that his cousin and her daughters were coming home.

Roberts said his cousins are at a hospital in Israel, reunited with their family. He has not been able to talk to his cousins directly but spoke with relatives who had visited them.

“It's very relieving to know that they're back home," he said. “They have a very long way ahead of recovery and going back to normal life like they were before Oct. 7, but they have the best system around them.”

Once it's safe to fly to Israel, Roberts said he plans to bring bags of holiday candy and chocolates for the kids. Roberts will also visit his aunt’s grave.

“Hug them and just tell them that we're here to support you, we love you,” he said. “It's all part of one very emotional journey.”

The work isn't over

In between Thanksgiving gatherings with his own family and processing the news himself, he has been getting the word out. He had never been quoted in a story before Oct. 7, but suddenly he was waking up at 5 a.m. to be on "Good Morning America" and answering calls from news outlets. On Friday alone, he talked to nine reporters.

“We're very lucky, but our job is not done. We have a long way as a society, as a family, as a community to recover from Oct. 7,” he said. “We're up for the job. I don't think we have a choice.”

Roberts grew up in a kibbutz, a tight-knit Israeli community, about the size of UT's campus, that focused on peace and unity, he said. His wish is that Mozes and Katz, and all the other hostages, will be released to be able to rebuild their communities.

Roberts has lived in Austin since 2019. He said he feels grateful for and inspired by the way the community has gathered since the war. Beyond the hostages, Roberts said the rise in antisemitism and antisemitic acts is concerning. Addressing this, and educating people about the history of the conflict, will be his next focus.

“When people ask me today where I'm from, I'm a little hesitant, because I don't know what they're thinking about me being Israeli,” he said. “I have to get over it and be proud of who I am. The fact that I am Israeli, it does not mean I hate Muslims or I wanted to kill the Arabs. No, absolutely not. I grew up with them hand in hand.”

When 9/11 happened, Roberts said, he was living in New York and found the most understanding with his Palestinian neighbors. Growing up, he visited Gaza, and admired its culture and people. Roberts said he wants people to know Israelis are not against Palestinians, but against Hamas. He said he grieves every civilian death.

The Israel-Hamas war is estimated to have killed more than 11,000 people in Gaza since it broke out. During the cease-fire Friday, more than a hundred trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza.

Going forward, he said, he hopes people can treat each other with understanding and compassion to build a better future for both Israeli and Palestinian people.

“That part of the land is just so beautiful and so inspiring," he said. "I really hope that one day they'll be able to sit next to each other and enjoy the beautiful land that they all exist on next to each other."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Hamas releases 3 of Leander man's relatives who were held hostage