The mother of one of the hostages who will not return alive from Gaza speaks: It is not clear when the handover will take place, and it is anguish that adds to anguish.
FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
TEL AVIV - There is a list of living hostages, twenty. And there is a list of dead hostages, twenty-eight. While the families of the survivors are preparing to embrace their loved ones again, the others are reassured by the idea of having their children's bodies back. But theirs is not called happiness. We have finally reached the point we hoped for, Yael Adar tells the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. She is the mother of Tamir who was killed on October 7, 2023 while defending Kibbutz Nir Oz. That day, the terrorists took his body and took it across the Strip as spoils of war. I fought to bring Tamir back. In the end, they'll give me back a coffin, not someone I can hug or look in the eye. Now our mission is to find him as soon as possible, so we can begin the mourning and come to terms with our loss. The days ahead are far from easy, Adar continues. All the families of the hostages who didn't survive the Hamas massacre say so: We can only begin our healing process when we have our children back here.
But while the return of the hostages alive is a given, the return of the bodies could become more complex because Hamas has stated it needs time to find all the bodies. It's unclear when this will happen, and it's terribly frightening and distressing. I'm happy for the living hostages and their families, but I'm not in a happy state of mind. Facing the truth, the certainty of his death, is difficult. I only hope Tamir is found soon, the woman commented. It's one shock after another. We've accepted what happened, but we still live in uncertainty.
Adar hopes that a balance can be found between the excitement for the hostages returning home and those who paid with their lives. There is much death in the air—the soldiers, the victims of October 7th, the hostages murdered in captivity. There is much death, and we must remember that in these moments of happiness. There is still much sadness around us. It's time to start finding a balance between our sadness and our joy: it is our duty.
Tamir Adar was 38 years old, nothing was known about his fate until January 5, 2024, when his family was informed of his killing. On the morning of October 7, as soon as news of the ongoing terrorist attack arrived, Tamir had no hesitation and left to support the kibbutz's local security team. He had a wife and two children. Before leaving the house, he told them: Please stay locked in the safe room.
