Following an attack by Hamas, soldiers guard the perimeter fence with Gaza and Kibbutz Holit on October 26, 2023 in Holit, Israel.Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
A Bedouin patriarch whose brother and nephew were abducted by Hamas while working in a cow shed on a kibbutz, says his family’s “suffering is endless” as they wait for news of their fate.
Ali Alziadna says his brother Youssef and nephew Hamza were taken by Hamas while working at Kibbutz Holit near the Gaza border, and he is anxious that their plight not be forgotten.
He says his family – including Youssef’s two wives and 19 children – cry every day as they wait.
They were among about 240 people taken hostage on Oct. 7 during an incursion by Hamas fighters. Youseff’s 17-year-old daughter Aisha and 18-year-old son Bilal, who were also abducted, were freed after 55 days in captivity.
A video released by Hamas of the abduction showed Hamza and Bilal lying prostrate on the ground with other hostages while Hamas fighters stand over them with guns.
In an interview, Mr. Alziadna said because they are Muslim, he believes Hamas took his family members “by mistake.”
“And then, when they did figure it out, why didn’t they release Youssef and Hamza together with Bilal and Aisha?”
The waiting and not knowing is “horrific” for his family, he said. “The anxiety and the suffering is endless,” he added, speaking through a translator.
The family’s fear was exacerbated by the accidental killing by Israeli forces this month of three hostages, including Samer al-Talaka, a Bedouin man from their community. The day before speaking to The Globe and Mail, Mr. Alziadna had returned from offering his condolences to his family who are in mourning
Mr. Alziadna said he hopes all the hostages held in Gaza are released. He said Youssef and Hamza require medication for diabetes and epilepsy, which he has given to the Red Cross, but he does not know if they have received it. He said the released teenagers told them they were getting some medication while they were held together, but not insulin or epilepsy and migraine medication. They said they were eating and drinking limited rations, including salty water.
He said the situation was particularly hard for Bilal, who since being released has begged to be swapped with his sick father. “He said two days ago that he would sacrifice his soul if they will let him exchange himself for his sick father because he’s so worried. And he sees his mother cry all the time. The two wives are crying and the siblings are crying and everybody’s crying.”
Mr. Alziadna said he is praying that they are returned while his 90-year-old father Akhmies, who is suffering from a terminal illness, is still alive.
The Bedouin are semi-nomadic, Indigenous people who have lived in the Negev desert for thousands of years. They traditionally kept and herded animals, and now many are agricultural workers. Many have family in Israel and in Egypt.
Mr. Alziadna said in Israel the Bedouin did not have the same rights as Jews and his family don’t own land so they make a living as agricultural workers on the kibbutz.
He said the whole family, who are Muslim, are religious and pray every day, adding that Youssef had been on pilgrimage to Mecca.
He said his brother is the mediator and peacemaker in his large family and a key breadwinner, so supporting the family has been difficult since his abduction, although social service payments from the government of Israel help. He said he has stepped in to look after some of Youssef’s 25 grandchildren.
The Israeli government had also provided psychologists to help his family, he said, including his niece and nephew since their release from captivity.
The Bedouin families’ plight is being highlighted in a documentary by Mika Orr, a New York-based filmmaker, who has been to their home in the Negev desert.
“I have always believed it’s important to tell the stories of individuals from marginalized minority groups, such as the Muslim Bedouin community in southern Israel. Bedouins are often discriminated against, both by the Jewish and Muslim communities in the region,” she said.
“The Bedouin communities live in remote areas near Gaza and continue to suffer loses from the missile attacks on Israel. These communities are in desperate need of protective infrastructure necessary to living safe lives, such as public shelters.”