Bedouin family desperate for news on teenagers held hostage in Gaza
DAILY WAVESNovember 30, 2023
Bedouin family desperate for news on teenagers held hostage in Gaza
Naeema Zyadna waits for the phone to ring every evening. Since the start of the Israel-Hamas interim truce agreement last week, she has been anticipating news that her two daughters, 16-year-old Aisha and 18-year-old Bilal, who were kidnapped by Hamas, would be returning home. They haven't yet, though.
There aren't many young captives in Gaza anymore. Under the terms of the deal reached between Israel and Hamas, captives under the age of 19 were to be released. Five more were set free on the sixth day, bringing the total number of people released back to roughly 40. However, Aisha and Bilal haven't been included in them thus far.
Naeema informed me that she can't understand why she hasn't experienced that delight yet and that she fervently aspires to experience it herself. The agreement was once more extended, this time for a seventh day, minutes before the ceasefire was set to expire on Thursday morning. Every new hostage list that is released instills new hope that her children's names will be included.
Aisha and Bilal had left with their father, Yousef, Naeema's husband, early on October 7 to work in a cowshed close to the Israel-Gaza border. Hamza, their 22-year-old son, also joined them. All Aisha wanted to do was go on a picnic with her dad. The four were taken captive.
The Zyadna family resides close to the city of Rahat in a small Bedouin community in the southern Negev desert.
Approximately 25% of Israel's population is Arab, and many of them would rather be referred to as Palestinian citizens of Israel. The Bedouin population accounted for less than ten of the captives that Hamas and other organizations took during the savage onslaught in Gaza, and it is thought that twice as many of them perished. Theirs was a private, nomad society, and fewer people have heard their memories of that day than others.
Speaking Arabic and practicing Islam, the Bedouin take great pride in their Arabic ancestry, and the Zyadnas discuss the challenges they have encountered in defending their way of life and their homeland. Naeema explains how her faith gives her strength and how she feels that Allah controls her husband's and their children's destiny.
As we sit and chat outside Naeema's house and hear her grandchildren playing nearby, her eyes well up with tears.
"Why haven't my son or daughter been released in these 54 days? Neither was their father. Why doesn't Hamas release them? She says, "Why doesn't Israel demand their release like it did for others?" "They are in their early 20s and teens, so they're young. Their father has high blood pressure and diabetes. He receives shots. Why weren't they let go?"
Bilal lives near his mother's house with his car. The family has left it locked and unoccupied in the exact spot where he parked it the last time. They want him to be liberated so he may return and drive it himself, thus they don't want to move it.
There is a patch of level terrain above the little settlement, and a few colored flags are waving in the breeze. In addition to becoming the site of marriage ceremonies, the community hopes to have a big celebration there to honor the return of their loved ones.
After a brief stroll past a pen occupied by inquisitive, chatting white geese, Ali Zyadna is sitting there sipping tiny cups of dark coffee. He's Yousef's brother, and he's holding up a poster of his family members' faces.
The family sent us a picture, which contrasted starkly with the placard's happy pictures. The image, which was extensively shared after being taken from Hamas media outlets, depicts Bilal and Hamza laying on their stomachs on the ground with their upper bodies covered.
Two armed men tower over the group, and two Thai hostages lie nearby. One puts his finger near the trigger of his gun and points it at the ground. There's a Palestinian flag visible on the front, and extra ammunition hidden beneath his green body armour. The hostages are the direct target of the other man's weaponry.
Ali's statement, "I'm speaking these words so Hamas will hear," is very apparent. Please consider this a humanitarian gesture and bring our children back, I beg of you. Without any relation to the arrangement, they have returned two additional Russians. They returned with the Thais expecting nothing in return. Why is it so difficult for them to send the Muslims back? We're pleading with you, please return our children to us safe and sound."
Naeema also wants the attention of the world to be on her family and the Bedouin community during their difficult time. She is aware that in order to draw attention to her children's situation, she must relate tales about Aisha's fondness for tea and cake, Bilal's devotedness to his pet dog and horse, and her own children.
She yells, loud and full of emotion, "I'm asking Hamas to bring back my children, enough is enough." "Every night I feel bad, I can't take this any more, I'm losing my mind."
Ali also urges the leaders of Israel to step up their efforts.
"The administration consistently responds by saying that Hamas is in control of everything. No, you are the state, though. Demand. You ought to be adamant. We're glad they've returned, we're not envious of anyone, and we hope they all return. However, it is inequitable that a girl remains in captivity while adults in the groups are being returned."
It's really challenging for us. It's already been two months. We had assumed they would have returned by now. But they didn't, and everyone went back. The family's wives are sobbing and pleading to come home with us."
0 Comments