Ayelet Samerano, the mother of Yonatan who was abducted by Hamas to Gaza on Oct. 7, warned of the terror group's efforts to divide Israelis. "They want to release captives in drips, to play mind games, play with our feelings and emotions and to divide us, just like they've always done," she told Ynet in an interview on Sunday.
Yafa Adar, taken by the terrorists
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Yonatan, she said, was hanging out at the party in Re'im with two friends when the Hamas attack began. He tried to escape even before the terrorists arrived and after the rocket fire began. "They reached the car and drove off and at a roadblock, policemen told them they had to find cover. No one knew terrorists had infiltrated.
"The terrorists waited for the car as it approached Be'eri and shot at them. Some of his friends were killed. Two of them, Bnaya and Maor, were already buried.," she said.
"We saw the video clip showing the terrorists putting Yonatan in a Nissan Terrano, only him. We want to hope it was because he was alive. We don't know if he is alive or dead, only that he was there.
Alon Adar, whose 85-year-old grandmother Yafa, was also taken by the terrorists, told Ynet that the family is in the dark. "We don't have a slither of information, not since the first days when pictures of the abducted spread around the world. We are also in the dark about a cousin who is still missing," he said.
"We gave all the lists to the Red Cross through official channels. We did everything we could and can now only pray. She is like anyone at that age. Her body is failing, and she is most likely suffering where she is being held. Humanitarian gestures should go both ways. Israel cannot make humanitarian gestures while our people are being held there and are suffering. This is no game. It's not fair. "