Israeli mother watches video of ‘frightened’ son taken hostage by Hamas
Almog Meir Jan, 21, was at a music festival when Hamas launched their deadly assault into Israel from Gaza on 7 October.
More than 200 hostages were taken by Hamas, with families still campaigning for their release.
Orit Meir said the last words her son said to her were: ‘I love you’.
This is the heartbreaking moment a mother begs for the release of her son, who was taken hostage by Hamas at the start of this month.
Almog Meir Jan, 21, was at a music festival when Hamas launched their deadly assault into Israel from Gaza on 7 October.
His mother, Orit Meir, has now spoken of the moment she saw footage of her “frightened” son being taken by Hamas militants.
She wept as she sent Almog an emotional message of support and described her shock at seeing him tied up and cowering in the video, which was sent to her by one of his friends, covering his face with his hands.
Mrs Meir said: "When I saw the video clip I saw his face, he covered himself but he was looking frightened, frightened.
“It was very hard for me to see him like this, because it's not my son, you know, my son is a happy guy.
“All the time, smile and we laugh together and he has lots of friends. Suddenly, to see him in a situation like this alone, by himself... wow."
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Mrs Meir revealed that her son had kept her updated at the attack while it was ongoing and that his last words to her before he went missing were: “I love you.”
Hamas has so far released four hostages – a mother and daughter with dual US/Israel nationality on Friday and two Israeli civilian women on Monday.
Israel's military dropped leaflets in Gaza on Tuesday, offering reward and protection to any Palestinians who could give them information about those who had been taken.
At least 200 hostages have been taken hostage by Hamas following their attack at the start of the month.
With fears of an impending ground assault, the US is believed to have been pressuring Israel to hold back as Washington tries to free the hostages Hamas is still holding captive in Gaza.
However, when asked was if he was urging Israel to delay its ground invasion, US president Joe Biden told reporters: "The Israelis are making their own decisions."
Families of those held hostage have set up a table with 203 empty chairs to represent the Israelis still missing at ‘Hostage Square’, outside of the Art Museum in Tel Aviv.
The Shabbat dinner table is a demonstration against the government, who the families are pressuring after prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza through Egypt without securing the release of the hostages first.
Calls for pause in fighting
While the families continue to fight to see their loved ones released, Israel has continued its bombing of Gaza amid calls by some – including the UN – for a ceasefire.
But the Israeli military says that Hamas, which rules Gaza, has entrenched itself among the civilian population everywhere, making civilian deaths unavoidable.
The United States has called for a "humanitarian pause" in the fighting so that aid is allowed into Gaza.
But Israel has so far resisted, arguing that Hamas would only take advantage and create new threats to its civilians.
Israel launched the strikes on Gaza after Hamas militants attacked southern Israeli towns on 7 October, killing 1,400 people.
Gaza's health ministry said on Tuesday at least 5,791 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli bombardments on the enclave since the same date, including 2,360 children.
‘I went through hell’
Yocheved Lifschitz, 85, was one of the hostages released by Hamas on Monday after two weeks in captivity.
The grandmother and her husband were kidnapped by Hamas gunmen and taken in to what she described as a “spider’s web” of tunnels underneath Gaza.
She said that most hostages were “treated well” but said she was hit by sticks and “went through hell”.
Mrs Lifschitz was seen shaking hands with a Hamas gunman before she was handed over to the International Red Cross at the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
Her daughter, Sharone Lifschitz, helped translate her mother’s words to reporters.
She said her mother were forced to walk for several kilometres on wet ground before they were taken to a room.
She said: "They made sure we wouldn't get sick, and we had a doctor with us every two or three days."
Mrs Lifschitz added that she was given the same food as her Hamas guards .
Her husband, Oded Lifschitz, 83, remains missing.
Additional reporting by Reuters.
