Viral post chronicles remarkable sisterly bond prior to abduction by Hamas

| Updated: 01 November, 2023 11:52 am IST

NEW DELHI: Ever since Israel-Hamas went into war on October 10, several reports of people being held captive by the Palestinian militant group have emerged on social media. A heartwarming video depicting a strong sisterly bond has now gone viral, showcasing one of the hostages reaching out to her older sibling to reveal that she is facing an attack by Hamas.

A Facebook page named ‘Bring Them Home Now’, dedicated to keeping the hostages alive, shared a story about the sisters. The post read: “This is a story about sisters. This is a story about love. Eden Yerushalmi celebrated her 24th birthday in captivity.”

It described how a week ago, the woman, who hailed from Tel Aviv, went to dance with her friends at the Nova Festival near Re’im and was held captive by the Hamas group.

It mentioned that the woman, while trying to escape the festival, called her elder sister named ‘Shani’. It read, “When the terrorists started their brutal attack on the festival, she immediately called her older sister, Shani. Anyone who has an older sister knows how natural this choice is, in Eden’s case, it was fateful.”

Eden also had a younger sister named May. Shani and May both tried to help their middle sister by trying to calm her down and avoid getting panicked.

“Shani, along with the youngest sister, May, locked themselves in a room at their mother’s house, and for four hours, they stayed on the line with Eden as she evaded the terrorists and moved between hiding spots. They never left her side,” the post described.

They aided Eden in maintaining her composure over the phone, advised her to remain silent, and even recommended that she feign lifelessness.

They also recommended that she take shelter inside a vehicle alongside her friends who had suffered gunshot wounds and had passed away. Encouraged by her sisters’ guidance, Eden displayed great bravery and, following their advice, relocated to an alternative hiding spot among prickly bushes.

The three sisters remained together until Eden’s final words, when she said “Shani, they caught me”. The post described this painful scene, stating, “They heard the gunshots and the chaos surrounding Eden, and then, after four hours of tension, a moment of silence: ‘Shani, they caught me,’ said Eden, and the call got disconnected.” Throughout this ordeal, the two sisters at home refrained from involving their parents and struggled to maintain their composure.

Eden is currently being held captive in Gaza. Following talks with Qatar and Egypt, Hamas declared on its Telegram channel that it had freed two of its hostages – Israeli citizens, Nurit Yitzhak and Yochved Lifshitz. Prior to that, American mother-daughter duo, Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie Raanan, has been freed by Hamas.

 

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