The uncle of the brothers - 16-year-old Noam Or and his 13-year-old sister Alma, who were released as part of the second round of Hamas release of hostages, after being held there for 50 days, told media outlets around the world today (Wednesday) that throughout the period of captivity Noam and Alma did not know at all that their mother was murdered in October 7. This was published in Ynet.
Their mother Yonat was murdered in a massacre in Kibbutz Be'eri, and their father Dror was also kidnapped to Gaza and has not yet been released. The uncle, Ahel Bashourai who lives in the Philippines, told CNN that his nephews received the bitter news about their mother's murder only when they were released on Saturday and reunited with their family members.
"My sister, their mother, was murdered on October 7," said Bashourai, "the children did not know this. We thought they were together at the time of the kidnapping, but in fact, they were separated from each other from the first moment. When they crossed the border back and were reunited with their grandmother and their older brother, the first news they had to deal with was that their mother was no longer alive. It was a terrible and traumatic moment for them."
Boshurai was also interviewed by the British "The Guardian", and told the newspaper that Noam and Alma did not know about the kidnapping of their father either until they were released. Only when the two brothers were released did their relatives learn from them about the horror the family experienced in the terrorist attack by Hamas.
According to the brothers' sources, they said that they and their parents hid in the MMD on the morning of Black Shabbat: "When the Hamas terrorists set fire to their house to force them out of the MMD, the children jumped out of the window and tried to hide elsewhere in the kibbutz, but the terrorists found them and took them to Gaza in a car they stole from there.
They put Noam in the trunk and my niece in the front with eight other Hamas terrorists," he said.
Bashurai revealed that during the captivity his nephews and that third abduction shared a diary together - which they were not allowed to take with them when they were released. Noam and Alma, he notes, developed a close relationship with the third abductee, who has not yet been released: "I asked them how they managed to survive and they said they supported each other in this trio, if you can call it that.
When someone was down, the others encouraged him and gave him mental support."
In a conversation with the "Guardian", the uncle stated that his nephews were "fine", but he expressed concern about the trauma they experienced and its consequences. "The young lady had a huge smile and sparkling eyes. I keep thinking: what is behind these sparkling eyes? What is deep inside them, after this terrible experience? It is very difficult for me to assess," he said.