Grandmother taken hostage by Hamas is Holocaust survivor

ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT
Israeli soldiers patrol on the outskirts of Sderot near the border with Gaza
AFP via Getty Images
Sami Quadri9 October 2023

An elderly Holocaust survivor in a wheelchair was among more than 100 people taken hostage by Palestinian militants Hamas over the weekend, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

Shocking footage has circulated online showing sobbing Israeli children and their mothers being dragged from their homes and loaded into vehicles by heavily armed men before being taken to Gaza.

Mr Blinken suggested an elderly Holocaust survivor was among those dragged across the border into Gaza.

“As we’ve seen so graphically, literally dragging people across the border with Gaza, including a Holocaust survivor in a wheelchair. Women and children,” Mr Blinken said.

“So you can imagine the impact this is having throughout Israel, and the world should be revolted by what it has seen,” he added.

A screengrab from a social media video published on October 7, 2023 shows people taken hostage by Palestinian militants
A screengrab from a social media video shows people taken hostage by Palestinian militants
via REUTERS

Gunmen were reported to have been going door-to-door to round up whole families as they sheltered from a barrage of rockets fired into settlements from Gaza.

Videos showed traumatised Israeli soldiers, overwhelmed by the surprise attack, being abused and beaten as they were paraded by their captors.

Around 1,000 people have now been killed as war rages on between Israel and Hamas.

More than 700 Israelis have died since Hamas launched surprise attacks on Saturday, with dozens more being held hostage by the Palestinian militants.

Israel’s response has killed at least 370 people in the Gaza Strip with more than 2,000 wounded, Palestinian officials said.

British national Nathanel Young, 20, who was serving as a corporal in the Israeli army, is among those who have lost their lives.

Fellow Brit Jake Marlowe, 26, is missing after Hamas attacked a music festival, from where rescue service Zaka says at least 260 bodies have now been recovered.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned people living in Gaza to flee as he vowed to turn parts of it “into rubble”.

In a statement issued on X, formerly Twitter, he wrote: “I say to the residents of Gaza: Leave now because we will operate forcefully everywhere.”

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