A mother-daughter duo,Raya and Hila Rotem, were captured by Hamas terrorists on October 7 from the safe room of their home. Raya, 54, wrote to her brother at 12:05 pm that she and her 13-year-old daughter were being kidnapped and taken to Gaza.
It was only on October 29 that the two were confirmed as Hamas hostages. However, while Hila was released on November 25 after a temporary cease-fire deal brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel, Raya is still being held hostage, to the horror of family members.
Hila’s uncle Yaie and a family friend received her in Israel, alongside Emily Hand, another child hostage who was released. Emily was abducted while she was visiting Hila’s house in Kibbutz Be’eri.
Emily was initially believed to have been killed. “Emily has come back to us! We can’t find the words to describe our emotions after 50 challenging and complicated days,” her family said in a statement to CBS News.
The Israeli government is now trying to determine why Raya is being held captive even though her daughter was released.An Israeli government official told CNN that under the agreement, mothers and children are not supposed to be separated. “That’s part of the deal,” the official said. “It’s unknown where she is and what happened to her.”
A second group of 17 hostages who were abducted by Hamas during the October 7 attack were released Saturday night, October 25. Another39 Palestinian women and children who were jailed in Israel were also freed in exchange. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals were released. There were six Israeli women between the ages of 18 and 67, and seven Israeli children ranging in age from 3 to 16, who have reportedly been released.
Initially, the hostages weretransferred by the Red Cross across southern Gaza’s Rafah border into Egypt, before being flown to Israel. Before being reunited with their families, they were medically evaluated at hospitals in Israel.
