An Israeli father is sharing details of his last phone conversation with his wife before she and their two young daughters were allegedly kidnapped during an invasion by Hamas militants on Saturday.
Yoni Asher, 37, said he spoke to his wife of 34 years, Doron Asher Katz, on the phone early Saturday morning while she was visiting her mother’s home with their daughters, Raza, 5, and Aviva, 3.
said Yoni The New York Times that during the phone call Doron whispered that the house had been broken into and that he was hiding in a safe room with his mother and girls. “She told me: ‘There are terrorists in the house.'”
Doron’s mother has a partner, Gadi Moses, who tried to reconcile with the intruders while the others hid. “She said they went and took it [Moses] with them,” Yoni added. Then the call ended.
CBS Morning‘ Tony Dokoupil says his children are safe in Israel amid Hamas attacks: ‘Roller Coaster weekend’
Israeli soldiers drive a tank along the border between Israel and Gaza as fighting with Hamas militants continues.
Ilia Yefimovich/picture alliance via Getty
Yoni said he then tracked his wife’s phone and saw it had been transferred to Khan Younis, a town in southern Gaza – leaving him to fear his family had been kidnapped as well.
His fears appeared to be realized when he recognized his wife and daughters in a video they shared on social media, showing gunmen loading people into the back of a truck while a woman resembling his wife was blindfolded.
The father of two said his mother-in-law, Efrat Katz, 67, was also in the truck.
“Later when I saw the video there was no doubt,” Yoni told CNN. “My wife and my two daughters were on this stroller. I know for sure that they are busy.”
Israel’s defense minister calls for a ‘total siege’ of the Gaza Strip two days after Hamas’s surprise attack
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Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel over the weekend.
Cover images via AP
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Saturday that the country was “at war” after Hamas militants launched a surprise attack over the weekend. Approximately 2,200 rockets were fired in attacks from the Gaza Strip toward Israel, CNN reported.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced, according to CNN, that Hamas had taken “hostages and prisoners of war.”
Yoni is now pleading with the authorities to help bring his family home. “Please help us,” he said, according to CNN. “We ask for your help if there is anything you can do.”
Joe Biden offers support for Israel as PM says ‘We are at war’ after Hamas attack
Elad Strohmayer, director of congressional affairs for Israel’s foreign ministry, acknowledged the missing family in X on Saturday.
“The Doron family and her two daughters, Raz and Aviv, saw themselves abducted to Gaza by Hamas terrorists,” he said. wrote. “Their family asked to share this so that everyone would know the truth. There are many more Israelis kidnapped by Hamas terrorists. Israel is under a heinous terrorist attack.”
The death toll from the unprecedented Hamas attack has now surpassed 1,100, NBC News reported Monday.
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