– I know that if I walk for thirty minutes, I would be able to get to where he is. It’s a nightmare, says Oded Mozes despairingly. He and his family will not move on in their lives until they get 80-year-old Gadi Mozes back. The elderly man has been held hostage for more than 10 months now. Oded and his wife Einav have invited news to their home in Sde Nitzan in the south of Israel. We are just east of the Gaza Strip, close to the border with Egypt. A mile and a half from here is the Nir Oz kibbutz, from which Gadi was abducted. – What kind of man was your father? – I have to correct you a little, we don’t say was, but are. We have to think positively and believe that he is alive, says Oded. BEFORE OCTOBER 7: Potato farmer Gadi Mozes worked in African countries where he gave advice to farmers on how to farm efficiently. Photo: Privat The Mozes family is clinging to a little hope now that a new round of talks on a ceasefire and hostage agreement is underway. Abducted on 7 October Gadi Mozes disappeared from Nir Oz during the attack on 7 October last year, when Hamas and Islamic Jihad (Holy War) kidnapped around 250 Israelis and foreigners to Gaza. Two of them were Oded’s parents, Gadi and Margalita Berta Mozes. While the mother was released last November, the father is still imprisoned. Gadi didn’t get his glasses or his hearing aid with him. – What happens to him now? I wonder about that all the time. Is he in a tunnel? Can he hear? Is he hungry? Does he get enough water in the heat? Is he alone? Do they have a toilet there? Oded has many questions and few answers. – Hostages who have been released tell us that they were treated well and with respect. While others were not. GRANDCHILDREN: Gadi Mozes is a farmer, specialist in potatoes, peanuts, carrots and irrigation systems. Here with Oded, Einav and grandchildren. Photo: Private 105 hostages Israeli media estimate that between 105 and 110 hostages are still in Gaza. Of those, 34 have been confirmed dead by the Israeli army IDF, according to the Times of Israel. On Monday, the IDF found six dead hostages. Three of them were from Kibbutz Nir Oz. None of them were Gadi Mozes. – My father speaks Arabic. He believes in people and worked with Palestinians on the fields here. He believed in coexistence and peace, says Oded. For many years, both Palestinians and Israelis could travel freely in and out of Gaza. That was before Hamas took power in 2007, and before Israel established the blockade that brought with it walls, checkpoints and a closure regime. An abandoned community Einav and Oded take us to their father’s home in Nir Oz, a fifteen-minute drive away. In this peaceful oasis it is strangely quiet now. We see the occasional cat sneaking around. On the lawn, a couple of pheasants rule the roost. The silence is interrupted only by the boom and bang of the war raging nearby. IDYL: Nir Oz was an idyll. After the terror on 7 October, the kibbutz has been completely abandoned. The 400 who lived here have either been killed, taken hostage or evacuated. Photo: Ksenia Novikova / news The entire population is gone. Of the approximately 400 who lived here, over a hundred were taken hostage or killed. The survivors have been moved to hotels and apartments elsewhere. In the dining hall of the kibbutz, we see traces of the life that was here. A poster on the wall asks people to come to a demonstration against the occupation on 7 October 2023. “Nothing happens until we talk together. Let us withdraw from the occupied territories. This is the year for peace”, is the message on the poster. PLANNED DEMONSTRATION: On 7 October last year, residents of Nir Oz were called to participate in a demonstration for peace in Beer Sheeva. The slogans are “Nothing ends until we start talking together.” Out of (the occupied) territories. Pull us back. The year of peace”. Photo: Ksenia Novikova / news On the same day, the population of the communities along the Gaza Strip had the ideology that coexistence is possible completely shattered. Feeling let down Oded and Einav Mozes feel let down by everyone: By the Palestinians who worked in the kibbutzim, who they claim gave information to Hamas about who lived where and who had weapons. By the army, the IDF, which did not come to protect them when the attack began early that Saturday morning. By Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who they believe is not doing enough to negotiate the release of the hostages. – No, he doesn’t do enough. Really not enough, they both say. MARKED: The mailboxes tell what has happened to the citizens of Nir Oz. The black notes read “GISSEL”. On the red: “KILLED”. The few dark blue: “FREED”. Photo: Ksenia Novikova / news The families of the more than a hundred hostages who are still trapped are distraught, angry and frustrated that the government will not pay the price to get the hostages home. – Has Netanyahu visited you here? – No, not once has he visited Nir Oz, says Oded. Bringing home soldiers and citizens from enemy countries has always been an important contract between the people and the leaders of Israel. But whenever talks about a cease-fire and the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners begin, as now, the Mozes get uneasy. – It’s an emotional rollercoaster. We dare not hope, because we have been disappointed so many times before. We know nothing. Last sign of life The last sign of life was given to the family in December last year, when the group Islamic Jihad published a propaganda video, discussed in the Times of Israel. Gadi looked devastated, but at least he was alive. SIGN OF LIFE: The last sign of life was given to the family in a video from Islamic Jihad on 20 December 2023. The picture on the right is from there. Photo: Islamic Jihad / Private – We cried and cried. My father has eyes that shine, that are full of light and life. But in this video it was as if it had been turned off, says Oded. – We were shocked to see him like this. But he lived. That was the most important thing. They don’t know exactly where he is, but think he is in Khan Younis because many people from Nir Oz were taken there. – Must find a way to live together Like so many of the peace activists who lived here in the south of Israel, Oded and Einav have also been in favor of a Palestinian state. – They deserve to have their own land, and Israel must give it to them, says Einav. But she is quite clear that what happened on 7 October last year was not a legitimate Palestinian war of independence. If Hamas had attacked soldiers, it would have been different, she believes. – But the way they attacked us on 7 October, the way they massacred families and children… They have set both peoples, the belief in coexistence and the peace process back by at least 50 years. FATHER’S HOUSE: Oded Mozes outside his father’s house in Nir Oz. The posters show the father and his partner Efrat, who has been killed. Her daughter and granddaughter were taken hostage, but released in the exchange last November. Photo: Ksenia Novikova / news – How can we trust them again? asks Oded, referring to the Palestinians in Gaza. – I wish they would disappear and they wish I would disappear. But that won’t happen. We have to find a way to live together. Oded often talks to his father when he jogs, he says. – What do you say? – We fight for you, father. Hold fast. Try to think positively. Be strong. Published 21.08.2024, at 22.43
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