‘I saw my brother in the video’ – Dozens kidnapped to Gaza, families demand answers

Brother of man kidnapped to Gaza blasts government for failing to create a command center, standardized procedures to communicate with those whose loved ones are being held hostage.

By World Israel News Staff

Dozens of Israeli citizens, including civilians ranging in age from the elderly to babies and soldiers of various ranks, are feared to have been kidnapped to the Gaza Strip, following an unprecedented incursion into Israel carried out by the Hamas terror group on Saturday.

Many of the families of those presumed to be kidnapped are raging at the Israeli government via Hebrew-language news channels and social media, saying that they have not received any communication from the authorities regarding the status of their loved ones.

In a video that swiftly went viral on social media, a young couple – later identified as Noa Argamani and Avinatan Or, are seen being whisked away from an outdoor music festival in Israel’s south by armed gunmen, towards the border with Gaza.

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Or’s brother, Moshe, said that he had no doubt that the video depicted the couple, but told Channel 12 News that he was shocked by the lack of official response from the government.

“There are dozens more missing and at the moment there is no government agency from the country, nobody official that coordinates this, with the exception of [general emergency hotline] 100 and they do nothing,” Or said.

“There are private organizations of people on Instagram and Telegram to gather all kinds of names, and you see lists upon lists. These are dozens if not hundreds of people who are missing,” he added.

Ella, a resident of a kibbutz adjacent to the Gaza Strip, told Kan News that she was certain her father had been kidnapped and taken to the Hamas-controlled enclave.

She recounted that her father had phoned her early Saturday morning and told her that terrorists had infiltrated the community. She had been sleeping away from home at the time.

In a tearful voice, Ella recalled hearing gunshots and men shouting in Arabic, and that the line then went dead.

Several hours later, Ella saw a video on social media platform Telegram of a middle-aged man being led through the streets in Gaza.

“I know it’s him, I recognized him right away,” she cried.

As of the interview on Saturday evening, Ella said that no authorities had contacted her or any other members of her family regarding her father’s abduction.