Oct. 7 bereaved mother gets call from daughter aboard flight nearly hijacked

Her daughter, traveling alone, held another passenger’s hand and prayed as the aircraft lost altitude.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Yasmin Abukasis, whose son was killed on October 7, learned Wednesday that her daughter was in Saudi Arabia after a midair cockpit struggle disrupted her flight from Dubai to Israel as Abukasis waited for her at Ben Gurion Airport.

Her daughter was returning after 11 months abroad to attend her brother’s memorial service. Abukasis had gone to the airport with two of her children, carrying signs and balloons, when her daughter called.

“She tells me, ‘Hi Mom, everything okay? I’m in Saudi Arabia.’ I told her, ‘What? Saudi Arabia?'” Abukasis said.

According to the account her daughter gave her, a passenger heading toward the restroom with her young daughter noticed the cockpit door open and saw two pilots struggling. One was holding a pocketknife and stabbing the other, Abukasis said.

After the passenger alerted others, the aircraft began descending rapidly and shaking from side to side. Several Israeli passengers rushed toward the cockpit, subdued the alleged attacker and bound his hands with available items, according to Abukasis. A dentist and nurse aboard the flight treated the seriously injured pilot.

Abukasis said two additional pilots traveling as passengers later entered the cockpit and gained control of the aircraft, although she did not know their roles or why they were aboard.

Her daughter, traveling alone, held another passenger’s hand and prayed as the aircraft lost altitude.

“She screams ‘Shema Yisrael,’ and she says, ‘Daddy, I’m not ready to die, my mother is waiting for me. She can’t lose another child,’” Abukasis recounted.

The experience brought Abukasis back to the loss of her son on October 7.

“I’m still in the middle of the event. Of course, it takes me back to October 7, back to that very difficult trauma. Unfortunately, back then we didn’t have a miracle, and today, thank G-d, there is a miracle.”

Abukasis also criticized Israeli authorities, saying she had received no official contact or assistance for hours while her daughter remained in Saudi Arabia.

“Where are all our people? Where is the Foreign Ministry? Where are all the authorities that deal with these things?” she asked.