DURHAM, N.C. — It has been 103 days since the Israeli government says Hamas terrorists entered Israel, taking over 200 people hostage and killing another nearly 1,500.
This week, families of Israeli hostages have been in Raleigh talking to lawmakers, congregations and to Spectrum News 1.
Spectrum News 1 sat down with two family members Wednesday morning.
They shared their heartbreaking stories about what happened to them and their families on that Shabbat Saturday morning.
“We started hearing voice of people in the Whatsapp groups of people crying for help, locked in their houses, safe room, in their house, the terrorists are there, they’re houses are burning,” said Yair Rotem, whose niece and sister were released by Hamas.
(Spectrum News 1/Evan Sery)
In the early morning hours of Oct. 7, Rotem woke up to the sound of rocket missiles and mayhem.
His Kibbutz community was under attack.
He says, as he hid in a safe room for 14 hours until his rescue, that hundreds nearby were killed, raped and kidnapped.
His niece and sister among the ones taken captive by Hamas.
“At first we thought they were dead, because there was no information, but after three weeks we got the information that they were in Gaza,” Rotem said.
Fortunately, both were released after roughly 50 days in captivity.
“It was tense, of course. We were happy to see my niece physically fine, and of course to hear my sister was also fine,” Rotem said.
To Rotem’s right, sat Yair Moses, whose parents were also taken hostage.
His father, 79-year-old Gadi Moses, is still in captivity.
The last time his family saw him was on Dec. 19 in a video released by terrorists.
“You saw him alive, first only sign of life we have we don’t know when it was taken, but we know some part in a way he was alive, he looked thin, older, looks exhausted,” Moses said.
Israel has responded with significant force on Gaza and Hamas.
Spectrum News 1 asked if Moses is confident in their ability to bring his father home.
“I’m not a politician. I’m not an army man. I don’t know exactly. What I’m saying is we need them home and bringing them home should be the number one priority for everyone,” Moses said.
Spectrum News 1 also asked what their reaction was to posters of hostages all over the world ripped and taken down.
“I think we see a lot of anti-Semitism all around the world and also ignorance. Ripping up posters of kidnapped people is just not human. This is a humanitarian crisis, it’s little babies, it’s 80-year-old people that are kidnapped,” Rotem said.
As we approach 100 years since the beginning of the Holocaust, Rotem said the circumstances are not the same.
“I would say it’s not happening again, but Hamas certainly want it to happen again, that’s the difference. We have a country now we can defend ourselves and that’s what we’re doing now in Gaza,” said Rotem.
Both Yairs and another family member of a hostage met with Gov. Roy Cooper Tuesday along with state Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
They are attempting to hammer home the point that the hostage situation, is not a political conflict.