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Four people were kidnapped from the "shelter of death" on October 7: Hirsch Goldberg-Polin, Or Levy, Alon Ohel and Eliya Cohen. Hersh was murdered in a Hamas tunnel under Gaza, Or was released on Saturday after 491 days in captivity - but Alon and Eliya remain in hell in Gaza, in inhumane conditions. Eliya's partner, Ziv Abud, revealed Monday that testimonies from someone who was with him in captivity indicated that he does not know she is alive. Ziv miraculously survived the horrors in the shelter, but Eliya was abducted into Gaza by the terrorists.
Meanwhile, Eliya's mother, Sigi, expressed shock in an interview on Monday morning at the harsh conditions in which her son and Alon Ohel are being held. After the release of the hostages in the last round on Saturday, the family received its first sign of life from him - and his family revealed the terrible conditions in which the two young men are being held, including being restrained in chains.
"We know that they have been chained from the day they were kidnapped until today, which is unimaginable. A person has been chained for a year and four months, and guards are standing over them with drawn weapons, and they haven't moved for a second," Eliya's mother told Ynet. "They are treated like animals. They hardly receive food, they don't see daylight, they were in the tunnels from the day they were kidnapped until today. And I'm not talking about the abuse, I don't know what they went through there."
In a social media post Sunday night, Eliya's partner, Ziv, wrote: "Now I know that you don't know that I'm alive. From the testimonies of people who were with you in captivity, I know that you don't know what we went through here and what we are doing, not even a little bit, because you are completely cut off. You also don't know how I wait for you, how every day that passes without you or without an update becomes harder and harder."
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Hostage Eliya Cohen's partner is campaigning for his release, says she does nto know she survived October 7
(Photo: Hannah McKay?Reuters)
She added: "I can't explain how much it hurts to know that you are suffering, that you are hungry, that it is difficult for you - but that you are also strong. I want you to know that during this entire period you were not only shackled by your feet, but also in the hearts of everyone who loves you. I know that what happened and is happening to you in captivity is unimaginable, that you are going through one of the hardest things. And it is so hard to be here, without an option to make things easier for you, without being able to hug you."
"Sometimes all I want is just the little moments – our conversations, our laughter, all our moments, the little things that made our lives so beautiful. I endure every moment in silence, because I know your pain is greater than mine. I know you don't know I'm here waiting, but I don't stop hoping and waiting. Every day. Every moment. For you to know that your pain is mine too. I love you, and all this time only increases my desire to bring you home, until we can hug each other again, that we can heal and feel alive again."
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In an interview with Ynet, Eliya's mother, Sigi, expressed shock at the difficult conditions that were revealed. "My stomach is turning and I'm in a crazy state. If we thought we knew something, then we didn't understand anything. The punch in the stomach that we had on Saturday night, with all the joy of the sign of life we received, I couldn't imagine how bad the situation they were in was."
Is the government suppressing the difficult situation of the hostages?
"I really don't know. What interests me now is that my son returns and that everyone returns. The hostages who returned on Shabbat are proof that everyone, everyone who remained there, needs to return home today. If up until now they seemed to know and covered it up, now they can't cover it up. Look, people who look like Holocaust survivors have arrived here, and went through the Holocaust there. They all need to return home. That's more important than anything else."
What information did you receive about Eliya?
"We know that, thank God, Eliya is alive, we know that they have been chained from the day they were kidnapped until today, which is unimaginable. A person has been chained for a year and 4 months, and guards are standing over him with drawn weapons, and they haven't moved from him for a single second. They are treated like animals. They hardly receive food, don't see daylight, have been in tunnels from the day they were kidnapped until today. And I'm not talking about the abuse, I don't know what they went through there."
Regarding Phase II of the cease-fire and hostage release deal, which currently is being negotiated, she says: "I am very, very worried. I was worried even before this deal was implemented, and I keep saying that until I look Eliya in the eye and hug him, I won't believe anything. It's sad to hear that the second phase of the deal is also getting further away, because after what we saw on Saturday, the first thing that needs to be done is to bring them home."
What do you say to the ministers in the government who think that the photos actually strengthen their opposition to continuing the deal?
"I say to those people: You don't want to make a deal, no problem, don't do it. Put your child in there instead of my child and then say you don't want a deal. As long as your child is not there, you have no right, you have no right to keep these children there, you don't have this right and privilege."
What message did he want to convey?
"He said he misses us very, very much and he's really looking forward to going home."
First sign of life from Alon
Yesterday, the family of the other hostage from the shelter near Kibbutz Be'eri, Alon Ohel, after 494 days received their first sign of life. The family was informed that Alon was alive as of Saturday, but emphasized that he has an eye injury which has not been treated, and has been held in chains for the entire period of captivity. The family received the testimony that he is alive from the hostages who were released on Saturday, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy, who had been held with him in the tunnels since the day of his abduction.
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Hostages who returned on Saturday told Alon Ohel's family that he is still alive
(Photo: Navet Kahane)
Alon's family said he is being held in harsh conditions in tunnels inder Gaza, without daylight and without access to basic human necessities, and that he has an eye injury. His mother, Idit, told Ynet that "the feelings are very complex and difficult; it is very shocking and on the other hand it is also very exciting that we know that Alon is alive."
She said that it is "very shocking to understand what condition he is probably in, according to the hostages who have returned now. In fact, since the kidnapping, he has been in the tunnels all the time, he is being held captive in difficult conditions in terms of nutrition. He has an eye injury that we didn't know about: shrapnel in the eye and shrapnel in the shoulder. He was held throughout the entire period of captivity, chained, with almost no food, just one pita a day."
Alon's family said: "We are devastated and shocked by the difficult physical and mental state he is in and the abuse he and the other hostages are still going through. Alon has survived the inferno so far, but he doesn't have time! The release of the hostages must not be postponed. They are all humanitarian."
Idit added in a conversation with Ynet that "we must do everything and now to return them. They must all leave now, urgently. The men's condition is not good - it is not normal. It is humanitarian. We do not accept the selection that was made - and this injustice needs to be corrected."