'Life stopped': British-based families of Hamas attack victims speak of grief

The British-based families of people killed or taken hostage in Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel have spoken of their grief.

Speaking at a press conference in London, Ayelet Svatitzky, whose brother was killed in a raid on his kibbutz in southern Israel, said her “life stopped” on 7 October.

Her other brother and mother have both been taken hostage by Hamas militants.

“I try not to deal with the loss of my brother because I find it too painful and if I start thinking about that too much it would hurt too much, and it would break me – and I don’t have the privilege of breaking,” she said.

“Because I have a mission – I need to be efficient, effective and productive trying to get the Red Cross to family members to see them, to get lists of who has been taken.

“We are chasing information, we are trying to get the hostages help and to get information out.”

Ofri Bibas Levi’s brother was taken with his wife and two children.

She said: “It is like living in a nightmare.

“The pictures keep running in front of my eyes. I feel guilty for eating, I feel guilty for sleeping in my own bed, I feel guilty for playing with my own children.

Talking about the recent release of some of the hostages, she said: “It is psychological torture, hearing that they are releasing this one or this one.

“We want all of them back, and we want all of them back now together.”

It comes after government minister, Victoria Atkins, financial secretary to the Treasury, confirmed that the number of Britons killed either during or since Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel had risen from nine to 10.

Among the dead are two teenagers, a soldier, people visiting Israel on holiday, and a music festival security guard.

The fate of six British nationals is also unknown following Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel.

Hamas released two Israeli hostages on Monday night, after releasing two US citizens on Friday.

On Monday, before the release of the two Israeli hostages, a spokesperson for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said 222 people were being held hostage in Gaza.

According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, at least 5,100 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched retaliatory air strikes in response to Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October.

At least 1,400 Israelis were killed in that attack, according to Israeli officials.

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