For the second time: Hostage Elkana Bohbot is 'celebrating' his second birthday in Hamas captivity

Rivka Bohbot woke to air raid sirens on Sunday morning, a jarring start to a day already heavy with grief. Today, her husband, Elkana Bohbot, marks his second birthday—his 27th—in Hamas captivity, 534 days after he was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023. As alarms rattled central Israel, Rivka faced another day without answers, while their six-year-old son, Ram, voiced a plea that’s become his refrain: “Bring my dad back now.”

Elkana’s abduction came during the Hamas attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and saw over 200 taken hostage, igniting a war that still grips the nation. A festivalgoer who stayed behind to help evacuate others, he’s one of 59 captives still held. For Rivka, this birthday isn’t a celebration—it’s a stark reminder of a government that’s failed to bring him home. “A morning I can sum up in one word: disgrace,” she told Niv Raskin on Morning News. “My son woke up terrified, afraid to go into the stairwell. And my husband is still in captivity.”

A Rollercoaster of Hope and Despair

Rivka described the family’s ordeal. “It’s a rollercoaster,” she said. “Moments of waiting, moments of hope like during deals, and moments of uncertainty when we’re falling. Every day is Russian roulette.” Yesterday, she stood with relatives at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, not cutting a cake but passing a message into the void, hoping Elkana might somehow hear it. “It’s not a normal birthday,” she said. “I think he knows it’s his birthday—testimonies say they’re aware of dates.”

The family has clung to scraps of hope. In February, returned captives delivered a sign of life—a personal message and a song Elkana dedicated to Rivka. But today, she’s in the dark about his condition. “I don’t know how he is,” she admitted. “We know that every time a deal falls apart, they suffer more—less food, more abuse.” A deal signed months ago collapsed, leaving her reliant on media updates like the rest of Israel. “It hurts,” she said. “We’re helpless, but we won’t give up.”

A Child’s Longing

Ram, now six, has grown up in his father’s absence, his language skills blossoming despite the trauma. “When Elkana was kidnapped, Ram struggled to speak—he heard Hebrew and Spanish,” Rivka explained. “Now he mentions Dad all the time.” She asked if he’d join her at the rally; he declined, instead tasking her with a mission: “Tell everyone to bring my dad back now.” Explaining captivity to a child is agonizing. “I needed him to know Dad’s kidnapped in Gaza,” she said. “It’s hard to keep shaking a kid with expectations. He tells his friends his dad’s a hostage without grasping what it means.”

Rivka’s resolve is steel-clad. “We’ll keep fighting,” she vowed, drawing strength from families reunited with loved ones at yesterday’s rally. “They’re with us until the last hostage. They know how much those still there, including my husband, are suffering.” As sirens faded and another day without Elkana began, her words hung heavy: a mother’s plea, a wife’s defiance, and a nation’s unresolved wound, etched into a birthday no one can celebrate.

Channel 12 contributed to this article.