Amit Edan, whose brother, Ynet photographer Roy Edan, and his wife, Smadar, were murdered by terrorists on October 7, said in an interview that Abigail Edan, the couple’s 4-year-old daughter who was released from Hamas captivity after nearly two months in Gaza, is doing well following her harrowing experience.
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Abigail’s older siblings, Michael and Amalya, who witnessed their parents’ murder, survived the attack in their home. When asked about the well-being of the three, Amit Edan said: "They are okay, playing, kind, and smiling – especially the girls. It’s harder for Michael, who’s 9 years old, but we'll get through it with time."
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Abigail Edan with a relative following her release
(Photo: Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel)
Edan said that Abigail doesn't talk much about what happened during her captivity. "But at least when I look at her from the sidelines and look at the whole family together, she looks perfectly fine, the same Abigail I knew before. She runs, plays, and is very lively. She returned to being a normal child," he said.
Edan said that Abigayil's older siblings, who hid in a closet in their home for long hours in after their parents were murdered, talk about things from time to time, "but it's not something we talk about daily. It will remain a topic for conversation for the rest of their lives, so there's plenty of time to dwell on it as it comes."
Edan said that the family’s new reality is somewhat eased by the fact that Michael, Amalya and Abigail are close friends with their cousins and their aunt from Smadar’s side, who will be the one raising them alongside her own children.
On the morning of the Hamas attack, Roy managed to photograph Hamas terrorists infiltrating Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where he lived with his family. A short time later, he and his wife were murdered.