13-year-old Gali with Russian roots is being held hostage by Hamas | Incidents

47-year-old Ilya Tarashchinsky, whose daughter Gali was captured by militants of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas, and whose son Lior died, spoke about the events of October 7 during an online conference. His story was retold by the website MK.ru.

The man lived in the Far East until 1996, after which he came to Israel. He soon settled in Kibbutz Beeri near the border with the Gaza Strip. Until October 7, about a thousand people lived there. About 130 people were killed and dozens were captured during the attack by Hamas fighters.

Ilya said that the residents of Beeri felt protected and relied on soldiers and technology. They thought that they only had to hold out for 10-15 minutes, after which the army would arrive. In reality, we had to wait about eight hours for help.

On October 7, he was at home with his 12-year-old daughter Gali and 16-year-old son Lior, whom he was taking for the weekend from his ex-wife. They hid in a bomb shelter, but soon a fire started there due to a thrown grenade. He and his daughter managed to get out, but his son died. The man lost consciousness and woke up at night when Israeli soldiers arrived.

He doesn’t know where Gali is now. She would have turned 13 in November. Her mother survived, but his first wife also died.

“At first we were evacuated to the Dead Sea, but since we were informed that Gali was being held hostage, my ex-wife, the mother of Gali and Lior, and I moved to Tel Aviv and are in the square with other families,” says Tarashchinsky.

In total, up to three dozen children may be held hostage by the Palestinian movement and are listed as missing.

Earlier today, the media reported that Israel is ready to release three Palestinians from prison in exchange for every hostage that Hamas releases.