The information center for the families of the kidnapped civilians was opened today (Wednesday) and has started collecting information and cross-referencing it with other sources in order to obtain a reliable and comprehensive picture.
The center emphasizes that it is currently collecting information from the families and is not transmitting field security information. A military source reports, "There is confusion; the families expect us to provide them with information, but at the moment, we are only receiving information, processing it, and cross-referencing it with additional data. When there is a clear indication that we have identified a captive with Hamas, a delegation consisting of representatives from the military and the municipality of the family's residence goes out to report to the family. There is a representative who stays in touch with the family throughout the whole time."
A man who went fishing and disappeared, a missing person whose car was found, a group in a car at the party
In the first three hours, hundreds of calls came into the center, and stories began to flow. A woman called to report that her father had gone fishing with his brother-in-law on the Zikim beach on Saturday morning, at 6:00 an alarm started. She called her father and asked him to come back, but he was calm and said, "It will surely pass in a little while." By 6:30, her father and the brother-in-law were no longer answering the phone, and since then, there has been no trace of their whereabouts.
Another woman reported about her son who was at a party with four other guys and girls. One of the girls called her mother. During the conversation, while they were talking, the woman's son yelled his mother's number at the phone. The call got disconnected, the vehicle was found abandoned in the area of the party, and the fate of the friends is unknown.
Another story that reached the hotline: A person left for his work shift at one of the military bases at 7:00 AM on Saturday. Contact was established with him, but by 10:30 AM, attempts to reach his phone were unsuccessful. His phone was located in Nir Oz at a place where he was not supposed to be. His vehicle was found elsewhere with open airbags, no signs of blood, and his tracks were lost since then.
A call from abroad: A pair of twin brothers are missing
Another call came from an individual who introduced himself as a friend of the father who is abroad. The father claimed that his two twin sons of elementary school age were living with their grandfather in Kibbutz Be'eri. The grandfather was found dead, and the fate of the twins is unknown. The father couldn't establish contact with the hotline from abroad, so he called a friend and asked him to find out the whereabouts of the children.
From the stories, it can be understood that the enemy wreaked havoc for about 5 to 6 hours in the hottest region in the country. The picture is not yet complete, but the hotline is working day and night to locate the abductees. At the hotline, they examine various indications through findings in the field and additional information, and together they formulate the likelihood and certainty of an abduction scenario and inform the families.
The hotline is open 24/7 at number 1229.