Survivors, Israeli family members beg for hostages of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack to be freed

Editor’s Note: This article talks about the attacks in Israel on Oct. 7. Some might find the information graphic, painful or disturbing to read.

Eleven and a half hours.

That’s how long 14-year-old Ella Shani hid in a dark safe room with her three younger siblings and her mother in Israel on Oct. 7.

“The first thing that just hit me with the realization was smell. As soon as they opened the door of the safe room, there was like a strong smell, smoke mixed with blood, sweat,” Ella said. “It was a terrifying smell.”

That’s how long gunshots rang through her kibbutz ― an intentional, tight-knit community in Israel. That’s how long Ella sat, looking at messages from teenagers in the Kibbutz, messages with pain, pleas and awful news.

“Kids were just begging for help,” she said.

On Thursday, 41 days after those attacks, Ella and three other relatives of Israeli hostages spoke at Epstein Family Community Hall at the Dell Jewish Community Center in Austin about their experiences. They detailed the horror for attendees to provide a firsthand account of their survival.

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Two days before, Ella recalled, she and her friends had a barbecue to celebrate the end of Sukkot, a Jewish celebration of the fall harvest. Her 16-year-old cousin, Amit, came over to help with the grill. They laughed, ate and had fun.

Both of Ella’s grandparents were shot that day. Her father died of injuries. And her cousin Amit was kidnapped by Hamas. She covered her brother’s eyes as they left the safe room and encountered the blood, death and devastation in her home and neighborhood. He had turned 9 the day before. She did not want him to see the horror.

“So many friends of mine have died in the worst ways you can possibly imagine,” she said. “People still deny what happened. I can understand because the human brain is not meant to contain such horrors. And they did take place on Oct. 7.”

After Ella shared her story, she pleaded with attendees to help her bring her cousin home.

“I didn’t mourn my dad; we just buried him,” Ella said in an interview with reporters. “I think about him every day, but I can’t deal with him right now. Because there (are) 237 more hostages.”

On Oct. 7, Hamas kidnapped more than 230 hostages and 1,200 people were killed, according to the Israeli government. The government said 33 children are among the hostages, including one baby.

Ella’s uncle Nir Shani, Amit’s father, is also a survivor of the Oct. 7 massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri, a community of about 1,200 people. He said about 10% of the community was taken hostage or died.

The delegation has been talking to different audiences to raise awareness to bring the hostages home.

“Every person is an entire world, as we know,” Livia Link-Raviv, the consul general of Israel to the Southwest, told reporters. “But we speak today in one voice, and we say bring them back home. Now.”

Dori Roberts is an Austin resident, born and raised in Israel. Six of his relatives were kidnapped. His aunt, Efrat Katz, was found dead at the Gaza border.

“There is no rest. There is no sit back and relax and take a break until they come back. Because they don't have that privilege,” Roberts said. “We are not here to sit down quietly. We care about our brothers and sisters, our families, and this is our mission.”

The event was hosted by Shalom Austin and the Israeli-American Council in partnership with the Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest. About 500 community members attended. They sang, prayed and recited poems. They spoke in front of five empty chairs with red heart balloons tied to them to honor the hostages.

The family members and other speakers said the mission to get the hostages home goes beyond politics or conflict. For them, it’s about humanity.

Nir Shani, a physiotherapist in Israel and a father of four, said their kibbutz had felt safe before the attacks.

“It was beautiful, lots of trees, grass, safe environment. We don’t lock our doors … kids can go outside and play until midnight,” Shani said. “And all that was ruined October 7.”

Shani last saw his son, Amit, the night before the attacks at 10 o'clock, when Amit left to sleep at his mom’s house.

Shani woke up to an alarm, put on a shirt and shorts, and walked barefoot to the safe room.

“After a while I was hearing gunshots, which is very unusual,” he said.

Shani said Hamas attackers then entered his home.

“There was a lot of violence inside the house. It was like trying to break a wall to enter the safe room,” he said. “They reached the door ... fought with me on the handle.”

He said the house was set on fire. He showed the audience the now darkened pillowcase he had worn over his head as he waited through the smoke — texting his ex-wife every 10 minutes to make sure she and the children were OK.

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After being evacuated by Israeli soldiers, he said, the neighborhood was “an apocalyptic sight.”

When he was finally reconnected with his ex-wife and heard that Amit had been kidnapped, Shani said he felt relief.

“What I heard is Amit is alive," he said.

Both of the grandparents of Daniel Lifshitz, who lived in Israel for most of his childhood, were kidnapped. Their house burned down. His grandparents founded the kibbutz where they lived and advocated for peace.

His grandmother, Yocheved, is one of four hostages who have been released. Lifshitz implored people to keep hope and to act to set the remaining hostages free.

“Each one of you should think about them as one of your family members, as your grandparent, as your baby,” he said. “Please push, do everything you can to put them in your heart … and bring them home.”

Ella Shani will go back to Israel, she said. But it will not be the same.

“My grandparents’ house doesn't exist anymore. And my dad isn’t there anymore,” she said. “It’s terrifying, and I’ll always remember it. I can't say goodbye to that place because that's where I was born and where I grew up. I have such beautiful memories.”

Nir Shani said they don’t know what will happen with the conflict. But he said he would not feel safe returning to how things were.

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After the event, community members embraced, shook hands and cried with the family members. Yellow butterflies ― a symbol to remember Holocaust survivors, particularly children ― decorated the space, and pictures of hostages were outside the event.

Rabbi Daniel Septimus, CEO of Shalom Austin, said the organization serves about 30,000 Jewish people and about 1,000 Israelis in the Austin area. Septimus said the unity of the community is inspiring. He asked for people to contact Jewish friends and offer care and support.

The Israel-Hamas war is estimated to have killed more than 10,000 people in Gaza since the war broke out. According to ABC News, citing Israeli and U.S. sources, hostage negotiations are “ongoing and fluid" and could involve a pause in fighting for a period of time as an exchange.

“It's been really hard. What has given us hope and light is the solidarity of the community. Our community has come together,” Septimus said. “The way those who support our community have come to our side to be with us side by side."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin families fight for loved ones held hostage in Oct. 7 Hamas attack