Vivian Bercovici: Mothers express anguish as world turns its back on Israeli hostages
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Herut Nimrodi last communicated with her son the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, when he sent his mother a series of text messages, not knowing that terrorists had already infiltrated his army base.
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At 4 p.m. that day, Nimrodi's 14-year-old daughter saw her brother in a video on social media. He was barefoot, in his pyjamas, without his glasses, clearly terrified and trying to shield his face from the relentless blows inflicted by Hamas terrorists. Tamir Nimrodi was led by force and walking on his own.
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Since then, the family has received no sign of life. No sightings of him in the tunnels. No psychological warfare videos.
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Herut Nimrodi shared that her family worries profoundly that their beloved Tamir may be one of three of the remaining hostages who have been murdered. If, in fact, that is even true.
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Israel officially lists 24 hostages as being alive, but the question of whether three of them may have been executed has been swirling around Israel in recent days. Late Thursday night, Israeli media published speculation that the three are, in fact, Tamir Nimrodi, as well as a Thai worker and a Nepali agricultural student.
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On April 28, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was asked about the status of the hostages. He confirmed that there were 'up to' 24 believed to be alive, of 59 still held by Hamas. His wife, Sara Netanyahu, interjected loudly enough for the press to hear: 'fewer.'
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A week later, U.S. President Donald Trump also let slip that three of the 24 may be dead. 'There's 21, plus a lot of dead bodies,' said Trump.
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This rather casual disclosure of such sensitive information understandably distressed the families. Is it true? Why did no one tell them anything? This is how they live — on rumours and crumbs of reliable intelligence, but mostly on hope.
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Just a few weeks ago, Hamas issued a statement saying that it had lost contact with the guards holding Edan Alexander, a 20-year-old American-Israeli soldier, suggesting that he may have been injured or killed.
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Alexander's mother, Yael, did not speak of that particular event, but did share her torment in the briefing on Thursday, where Nimrodi and Hagit Chen, the mother of 21-year-old soldier Itay Chen, also spoke.
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These mothers, bearing the heaviest of crosses, participate in these public sessions because they must. They must keep the fates of their sons — and all the hostages — fresh and at the forefront of this never-ending horror.
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In addition to the cryptic Hamas message questioning Edan Alexander's condition, Yael and her family have seen two videos of him in captivity in recent months. These signs of life bring relief, and so much pain.
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