32<\/div>SHARES<\/span><\/div>

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\u201cIn all those hours, \u200dwe were just walking like zombies \u2014 helpless, and the\u200b worst scenarios running through \u200cmy \u2062head. Really, it was awful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ilay David, 26, reflected \u2063on the\u200d first moments he and his\u2064 family suspected \u2064that Hamas had\u2064 kidnapped his younger brother, Evyatar, 22. Hamas terrorists captured him as he\u200c tried to flee the Nova music festival in Re\u2019im,\u200b Israel, on\u200c Oct. 7<\/a>. Evyatar took his mother\u2019s car \u2063and drove to the festival with four of his \u200cfriends late that Friday night, right after the holiday dinner.<\/p>\n

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Ilay now knows, with the rest of the world, that his brother was one of the many victims of a surprise attack on Israeli \u200bcitizens in southern Israel. The assault took more than\u2062 1,400 lives on \u2064the first day. Hamas abducted about 240 people and took them to Gaza.\u2062 Ilay waits for news at his family\u2019s home in Kfar Saba, a short 20 minutes from Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s still\u2063 trying to make sense of exactly what happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs much as \u2062I know my\u2062 brother, I think that he even \u2062didn\u2019t run.\u2063 I think he just walked, and he was so calm. Like the terrorists didn\u2019t\u2063 think that\u200b he\u200d was a threat to them. So, they just took him. That\u2019s how I imagine it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Typical Music Lover<\/h2>\n
Ilay\u2019s brother only told him \u200cthe day before that\u2064 he was going to \u200battend the music festival. It\u200d was no great surprise. Evyatar is a typical 22-year-old, very into music. He plays the guitar and can\u2064 play for hours \u2014 mostly\u200b hard \u2064rock.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThree\u2062 Days Grace. Sevenfold. \u200cIt\u2019s the kind of songs\u200b that I used to\u2064 put on the earphones and\u2064 run. \u2063He\u2019s \u2063very\u200c talented,\u201d beamed big\u200d brother Ilay. \u201cWe\u200c like to sing together and\u2063 play together. \u200bI play the piano.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evyatar works as a \u200cshift manager at the caf\u00e9 in\u2064 their hometown. \u201cOnly \u2062started his life,\u201d said \u2064Ilay, who lives not so far away in Jerusalem, \u2063where he is a \u2063physics student at Hebrew University.<\/p>\n
The First Hours of the Attack<\/h2>\n
At\u2064 about 6 a.m. \u2062on Oct. \u200d7, air raid sirens woke Ilay and his mother, Galia,\u2062 from their\u200b sleep. It\u2019s not \u200ccommon in their location, far removed from the border with Gaza. Nevertheless, they all knew the routine and ran to the\u200b bomb shelter. His mother immediately texted Evyatar to make sure he was safe.<\/p>\n
Evyatar replied that they were fine but were\u2064 packing up \u200cto leave. The festival organizers\u2062 were shutting everything \u2064down as\u200b a precaution because of the rocket fire from Gaza. The rockets were so close that they could see them from the festival\u2064 grounds.<\/p>\n
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Thinking everything was\u2064 fine,\u2064 Ilay went back to sleep.\u200c But Evyatar and his mother continued to message each other. The last text message came at 7:43 a.m.: \u201cWe\u2019re going to the cars.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 8 a.m. they lost the\u2062 connection. His friends were also disconnected.<\/p>\n
Not long afterward, the sound of\u2062 his mother\u2019s \u2064cries\u2063 stirred Ilay\u2063 from his sleep. He knew something was wrong, he explained,\u2062 because he had never heard her \u2062cry like this before.<\/p>\n
Terrorists\u200d and a Traffic Jam<\/h2>\n
The\u2062 family heard its first\u2064 solid\u2062 news\u200c about \u200dEvyatar\u2019s condition from \u200cEfraim,\u200c a friend who met him\u2064 at the festival. As they headed out, Efraim was driving two cars behind Evyatar and his friends. \u201cHe said\u200b that when they ran away to the cars, there was \u200donly \u2064one escape route. So there \u200bwas a traffic jam \u2014 all the cars trying to escape. And there was a blockage by the \u200dend of the road. I don\u2019t know if\u200b it was police or military or terrorists.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut \u200dat some point, they stopped, \u200band they saw a car coming from \u2062the other way, shouting, \u2018There are terrorists in the other way. \u200dRun \u200daway. Now. Leave the cars. Run away.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
And when they saw a second car, riddled with bullet holes, they understood what was\u200c happening. So they abandoned their cars.<\/p>\n
Then the group split\u2064 up. \u200bEfraim ran one direction, \u200band \u200dEvyatar and his best\u200c friend, Guy, ran\u200c a second direction. Two \u200cother friends\u200b who had driven with Evyatar ran a third direction.<\/p>\n
Hamas soldiers\u200d kidnapped both\u2064 Evyatar and\u2063 Guy. Efraim escaped. And Hamas killed the two other friends.<\/p>\n
Hamas Sends Propaganda<\/h2>\n
Back in Tel Aviv, Ilay and Evyatar\u2019s younger sister, Ye\u2019ela, 18, \u200dposted a photo of Evyatar on Instagram, along with her phone number and a desperate plea for anyone with information to contact\u200d her.<\/p>\n
She wouldn\u2019t believe\u2064 her eyes when she got a reply.<\/p>\n
Around 2:00 p.m., Ye\u2019ela opened her \u2063phone and \u2064saw a\u2062 screenshot from a video. An unknown number had\u200c sent it. She immediately told her\u200d family. Ilay looked at the photo she sent as they were \u200ctalking. \u201cI \u2063was looking at the\u2064 picture, and I was sure that I\u2019m \u2064looking at a dead man. It was \u200dmy\u2062 brother\u2019s \u200cface.\u201d<\/p>\n
He told his sister to send\u200b him the video. When he opened it, he saw a \u200dHamas\u2064 propaganda video, complete with blaring \u2063Arabic music and text running across the video.<\/p>\n
In the video, Ilay \u200dsaw his brother being led through a street that\u2063 he said looked like \u2064a \u2062street in Gaza.\u2063 Evyatar\u2019s \u200cshirt was torn. He\u200b was handcuffed behind his back. A terrorist\u200c was holding a gun in one\u200c hand and holding Evyatar in a\u200b headlock with \u2062the other\u200b arm.<\/p>\n
\u2018A Punch to My Gut\u2019<\/h2>\n
\u201cI could see how\u2063 cold-minded he\u200c was\u200c at the time. I mean, I saw that he is trying to be tough,\u201d Ilay said\u200d of\u200c his brother.<\/p>\n
A second propaganda video followed. \u2064\u201cFour young people. All handcuffed. One of them was beaten. And one of them is my brother,\u201d Ilay said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe scene\u2064 was a\u2063 dark room. They\u2019re all lying or sitting on the floor,\u2064 and the\u200b cameraman is using a flashlight, because it was \u2063a dark room, and he wanted us to \u200csee the frightened faces of the captives. And\u2064 they were frightened. They were\u2064 terrified.\u200c And so, seeing my brother\u2019s face like that, \u200bit was\u200c really a punch to \u200dmy gut. All they wanted to do at that moment of publishing these videos was to make \u2062us afraid and \u2063confused and \u200bterrified. And they actually succeeded.\u201d<\/p>\n
Staying\u2062 Strong in Captivity<\/h2>\n
Some two \u200cweeks passed. And Ilay received a third propaganda video \u2014 \u200cthis one,\u200d while he was doing an \u200binterview with one of the local news \u2064channels. In\u2063 the interview room, Ilay\u2063 met Ohad, a family member of another kidnapped Israeli.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he told me, \u2018Man,\u2064 I have a video, and I think it\u2019s your brother \u2063in that video.\u2019\u201d Ohad \u200crecognized Evyatar from the \u2063Instagram page of \u2062a Gaza photographer.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd \u200che\u2019s showing me an Instagram\u200b video of my\u2062 brother\u200c from that\u200b same day. Like\u200b two weeks after the event, I\u2019m\u2063 seeing another video \u2062of him in the same situation. \u2064The shirt, the handcuffs, everything. And he was lying in a \u2064truck with other guys, probably the guys that Hamas took to the \u200croom, to the,\u200b I don\u2019t know, underground room.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ilay \u2064remarked on Evyatar\u2019s condition, which \u200bstill gives the family some comfort: \u200d\u201cAnd he, my brother, has strong energy, even through the videos.\u201d<\/p>\n
Waiting with Hope<\/h2>\n
Now Ilay and\u200d his family can do nothing but\u200c wait. \u201cThe first two \u200cdays, all the\u200c country was \u200din chaos, complete chaos,\u201d he said. \u201cWe tried \u200dto deliver any information we had to all authorities, to the police and to the \u2064military and everyone. We \u200bhad solid proof that my brother was kidnapped \u2062and \u2062being held.\u201d<\/p>\n
That Monday,\u2062 two\u2063 days after the first attacks, the military contacted \u200bthe family\u200c and informed them that Evyatar was indeed kidnapped. \u201cLike we didn\u2019t know,\u201d Ilay reflected.<\/p>\n
For now, Ilay just wants to tell his story to \u200canyone \u200dwho\u2062 will listen: \u201cRemember his name,\u2062 remember his face. And know that he is being kept \u2014 right now \u2014 in Gaza. And that Hamas is doing \u2064\u2014 \u200dright now \u2014 crimes against humanity.\u2063 And that\u200d we will do anything it takes to bring them back. And I\u2019m a big believer that he will be \u2063back home. Yeah. I \u200breally do.\u201d<\/p>\n
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rnrn <\/p>\n
\u2062 What were some of\u2063 the \u2063challenges faced by Ilay and his family during their\u200c journey back \u200dhome?<\/h2>\n
\u2064Were getting \u2064closer, and the situation was becoming increasingly dangerous.\u200c Ilay and his family decided that it was time to leave as well.<\/p>\n
They quickly gathered their belongings and got\u2062 into their car. The journey back home should have\u200b taken about an hour, but they \u2063soon realized\u2063 that it\u2063 was\u2064 not going to be a\u2063 smooth ride.\u2062 The roads were jammed\u200c with cars, all trying to escape the area. The panic and fear in the air were palpable.<\/p>\n
As \u200dthey slowly made their way through \u200cthe\u200d chaotic traffic, Ilay couldn’t shake \u200coff \u2063the feeling \u200cof \u2062helplessness. He constantly \u2062checked his phone \u200cfor updates,\u200d desperately hoping to hear\u2063 some good news. But as time \u200cwent on, the news only got worse.<\/p>\n
A Nightmare Becomes Reality<\/h2>\n
Finally, after what\u2062 seemed \u200blike an eternity,\u2062 Ilay and his family arrived home. They turned on the news, and there it was – the confirmation of their \u2063worst fears. Evyatar had\u200c been \u2063kidnapped by Hamas \u200cterrorists.<\/p>\n
“We couldn’t believe it,” Ilay recalls. “It \u200cwas like a nightmare come true. We were in shock, unable to process \u200cwhat \u2064had just happened.”<\/p>\n
Ilay \u2063and his family immediately contacted the authorities and provided them with all the information they\u200c had. They prayed and hoped for Evyatar’s safe return.<\/p>\n
“We didn’t\u2062 sleep that night,”\u200d Ilay says. “We were consumed by worry and \u2062fear. Every passing minute \u200cfelt\u200b like an eternity.”<\/p>\n
The Long Wait<\/h2>\n
As the \u200ddays turned into weeks, Ilay and his family continued to wait anxiously for \u2064any news about \u2063Evyatar.\u200c They\u2062 clung to the hope that he would be found and brought back home safely.<\/p>\n
“Every day was a struggle,” Ilay admits. “We couldn’t focus\u200b on anything\u2062 else. Our lives were \u2062on hold, waiting\u2064 for that phone call.”<\/p>\n
During this time, Ilay began to\u200d reflect on\u200c the senselessness of the attack. “Evyatar was just \u200ban innocent music lover, enjoying a festival with his friends. He had his whole life ahead of him. It’s \u2064heartbreaking to think that it\u200c was taken away from him in an instant.”<\/p>\n
The Need for\u2062 Solidarity<\/h2>\n
As Ilay shares his story, \u200dhe hopes that it will serve as a wake-up call for people around the world.<\/p>\n
“The attack\u200c on\u200b my brother and countless others should be a sobering reminder \u2062of the dangers we face in\u2064 this world,” Ilay emphasizes. “We must stand together and fight against terrorism\u200d in all\u2063 its forms.”<\/p>\n
He also urges people \u2063to appreciate the value of\u2064 life and not take it for granted. “We often get\u2062 caught up\u200c in our own problems\u2064 and forget about the suffering \u200dof others. We need\u2062 to remember that every life is \u200dprecious and deserves\u2063 to be protected.”<\/p>\n
As for Evyatar,\u200c his fate remains uncertain.\u2063 Ilay and his \u200dfamily will continue to wait and\u200c hope, never giving up on\u200d the possibility of his safe return.<\/p>\n
“We won’t stop fighting for him,” Ilay says with determination.\u2062 “We will do everything in our \u2063power to\u2064 bring him back\u2063 home.”<\/p>\n
As \u2063Ilay’s story comes to an end, the weight of his words lingers. It serves \u200cas a reminder that behind every headline\u200c and statistic, there are real people whose lives have \u200dbeen shattered by acts of violence. \u2064It is our duty \u2064to listen, to empathize, and to take action.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cIn all those hours, we were just walking like zombies \u2014 helpless, and the worst scenarios running through my head. Really, it was awful.\u201d Ilay David, 26, reflected on the first moments he and his family suspected that Hamas had kidnapped his younger brother, Evyatar, 22. Hamas terrorists captured him as he tried to flee<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2566,"featured_media":2104614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2104613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2104613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2566"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2104613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2104613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2104614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2104613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2104613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2104613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}