We want them alive: Family members of hostages held by Hamas urge for help

TEL AVIV: The family members of the hostages and missing persons from Israel amid its ongoing war with the terrorist group Hamas urged the relevant authorities to apply pressure to the "right people in all the organisations in Turkey and Egypt," to bring them back.

They said that pressure must be exerted on "all organizations in Egypt and Turkey" to assist the Red Cross in entering the conflict zone so that hostages can be rescued alive.

Speaking with media at a press conference in Tel Aviv on Saturday, a family member of one of the missing persons said, "My cousin was abducted from her home with her two babies - nine months old & four years old...Those are innocent civilians. Hamas is a terror organization. You need to put pressure on the right people in all the organisations in Turkey & Egypt - they need to help the Red Cross enter...They were kidnapped alive and we want them alive..."

At the same presser, the sister of Tamar Gutman who has been missing, Dr Edva Gutman Tirosh highlighted that her missing sister suffers from Crohn's disease, and for the same, she has been hospitalized for years. She said if Tamar is not treated well, it could also lead her to death.

"My sister Tamar, she was at the Nova party when Hamas attacked. She's 27 years old and now missing. Tamar suffers from Crohn's disease. It's an inflammatory bowel disease, a chronic one...She has had a lot of exacerbations, and she hospitalized a lot over the years. If she doesn't get her medical treatment, she can suffer from bowel obstruction, fistula, inflammation, and abscess. She could die without her medication and without her medical treatment. And this is just my sister. And there are so many others that need medications...," Tirosh said.

Meanwhile, in an interview later, Tirosh said that her sister had been missing from the music festival since October 7 when Hamas attacked and there has been no whereabouts of her.

As the Israel-Palestine conflict enters its ninth day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said it is completing preparations for a "significant ground operation" in the Gaza Strip, The Times of Israel reported.

The IDF statement says it is readying to "expand the offensive" by implementing a "wide range of offensive operational plans" which it says include a "joint and coordinated attack from the air, sea and land." The IDF said it is finalizing the draft of hundreds of thousands of reservists, as the logistics directorate is working to provide troops with all the equipment they will need for the ground offensive.

Earlier on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is ready with its fighters in the Gaza Strip at the front line. "With our fighters in the Gaza Strip, on the front line. We are all ready," Netanyahu wrote on 'X' on Saturday.

Netanyahu toured Kibbutz Be'eri and Kibbutz Kfar Azza, two of the worst-hit Gaza border communities in last week's Hamas onslaught, his office announced, The Times of Israel reported.

As per a statement, Netanyahu "walked between the ruins of the houses where these terrible massacres took place." The prime minister was briefed by the IDF officers there, including the head of the paratrooper battalion. The visit comes as Netanyahu's first visit to the scene, more than a week after the attack that saw more than 1,300 Israelis killed, most of them civilians, as waves of Hamas terrorists breached the border. (ANI)

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