(18 Apr 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tel Aviv – 16 April 2024
1. Alon Gat whose sister Carmel is held hostage in Gaza, walking next to table set with plates, chairs and wine glasses at Hostages Square
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Alon Gat, whose sister Carmel is held hostage in Gaza:
"We want to celebrate the holiday, but we really can’t do it because my sister is now in Gaza. And also my mother that was the one that’s running the Seder, the one organizing it was murdered brutally on the 7th of October."
3. Photo of Carmel, held hostage in Gaza, printed on Alon’s Gat t-shirt
4. Alon Gat inside an installation simulating a tunnel displayed at Hostages Square
5. Poster of baby Kfir Bibas, held hostage in Gaza
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Holon – 16 April 2024
6. Pan from Shlomi Berger touching Israeli flag to presents for Agam on her table
7. Photo showing Agam Berger playing violin
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Shlomi Berger, whose daughter Agam is held hostage in Gaza:
"We say that Pesach is the freedom holiday, but for us there is no freedom, there is no holiday because Agam and the other hostages are not here."
9. Berger closing window and leaving his daughter’s room
STORYLINE:
Every year Alon Gat’s mother led the family’s Passover celebration of the liberation of the ancient Israelites from Egypt thousands of years ago.
But this year Gat is struggling with how to reconcile a holiday commemorating freedom after his mother was slain and other family members abducted when Hamas attacked Israel.
"We want to celebrate the holiday, but we really can’t do it because my sister is now in Gaza. And also my mother that was the one that’s running the Seder, the one organizing it was murdered brutally on the 7th of October," he said.
Gat’s sister, Carmel, and wife, Yarden, were taken hostage in the Oct. 7 attack.
His wife was freed in November, but his sister remains captive.
On Monday, Jews around the world will begin celebrating the week-long Passover holiday, recounting the biblical story of their exodus from Egypt after hundreds of years of slavery.
But for many Israelis, it’s hard to fathom a celebration of freedom when friends and family are in captivity.
The Hamas attack killed some 1,200 people, while about 250 others were taken hostage.
About half were released in a week-long cease-fire in November, while the rest remain in Gaza, more than 30 of them are believed to be dead.
For many Jews, Passover is a time to reunite with family and recount the exodus from Egypt at a meal known as the Seder.
Observant Jews avoid grains known as chametz, a reminder of the unleavened bread the Israelites ate when they fled Egypt quickly with no time for dough to rise.
But this year many families are torn about how — or even if — to celebrate.
When Hamas attacked Kibbutz Be’eri, Gat, his wife, 3-year-old daughter, parents and sister hid for hours in their rocket-proof safe room. But fighters entered the house and killed or abducted everyone inside, except for his father who hid in the bathroom.
His mother was dragged into the street and shot.
Gat, his arms and legs bound, was shoved into a car with his wife and daughter.
During a brief stop, they managed to flee.
Knowing he could run faster, Yarden handed him their daughter.
Gat escaped with her, hiding in a ditch for nearly nine hours.
Yarden was recaptured and held in Gaza for 54 days.
Passover will be overshadowed by deep sorrow and worry for her sister-in-law, Carmel, and the other hostages.
The crisis affects others apart from the hostage families.
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