My hostage son is chained up alone & going blind in Gaza dungeons while sick Hamas captors are CELEBRATED at Glastonbury
Scroll down to read more about the horrific treatment of hostages being held by vile Hamas
FORGOTTEN PLIGHT My hostage son is chained up alone & going blind in Gaza dungeons while sick Hamas captors are CELEBRATED at Glastonbury
THEY both set out to celebrate peace and love.
But while Glastonbury was this weekend awash with support for Palestine, there was little if any recognition of the 378 people massacred by Hamas at the Nova music festival in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Advertisement
19
While Glastonbury was awash with Palestine support, there was little recognition of the 378 people killed by Hamas at the Nova music festival in Israel on October 7 2023
Credit: Alamy
19
Hostage Elkana Bohbot, right, with sibling Uriel before the October 7 attacks
Credit: Doug Seeburg
Amid a sea of Palestine flags waved by the crowds at Worthy Farm, punk performers Bob Vylan chanted, 'Death to the IDF' and Northern Irish rappers Kneecap led a chorus of 'F*** Keir Starmer'.
The victims of the atrocity nearly two years ago — which marked the onset of full-scale war — were all but forgotten.
Instead, here in the UK, its perpetrators were held up as heroes.
You would have had to look hard to spot a flag at Glastonbury honouring those killed or taken hostage at the Nova festival.
Advertisement
Unsuspecting party-goers there were slain amid a hail of bullets and rockets as waves of Hamas fighters swarmed across the border from Gaza.
Rockets blasted across the border from Gaza.
It became the scene of the biggest massacre at a music event in history.
Incredibly, festivals held since then have not only failed to acknowledge what happened at the Israel gig, but have at times celebrated the terrorists behind the devastation.
Advertisement
The attack on the event, as well as small villages and towns near the Gaza border on that same day, led to a conflict that has seen thousands of Palestinians killed as Israel continues in its quest to dismantle Hamas and return its hostages.
Lebanon and Syria have become different countries with the weakening of Hezbollah.
Fury as Glastonbury crowd chants 'death to the IDF' during Bob Vylan set aired live on BBC
One member of the band Kneecap faces terror charges for allegedly waving the group's flag at a London gig.
And the recent 12-day war between Iran and Israel has brought more death and destruction to both nations, yet Israel seems no closer to getting its hostages back.
Advertisement
'Grief and pain'
The taken no longer feel like a key focus amid the fighting.
Of the approximately 250 people who were originally taken captive by Hamas, around 50 are still believed to remain in war-stricken Gaza over 600 days later.
Twenty of them are thought to be alive — nine were from the Nova Festival.
We want to emphasise that bringing back the remaining 50 hostages is the key to achieving complete Israeli victory. There will be no victory until the last hostage returns
Israel's Hostages And Missing Families Forum
Slowly, as the Israeli army takes over increasing tranches of the territory, it is finding bodies of dead hostages.
Advertisement
Eight have been recovered so far this month.
On June 21, a military operation retrieved the remains of three people who had been taken captive — Yonatan Samerano, 21, Ofra Keidar, 71, and Sgt Shai Levinson, 19.
Israel's Hostages And Missing Families Forum — which represents some of the hostages' relatives — said: 'Alongside the grief and pain, their return provides some comfort to the families who have waited in agony, uncertainty and doubt.
'We want to emphasise that bringing back the remaining 50 hostages is the key to achieving complete Israeli victory. There will be no victory until the last hostage returns.'
Advertisement
One of those caged in the tunnels is Alon Ohel, who is in desperate need of medical attention as shrapnel in his eye is slowly blinding him.
Throughout his ordeal, it is music that has kept him going, his mother Idit tells The Sun.
Alon started playing the piano when he was nine, with Elton John a particular hero and inspiration.
The British pop star's music is likely being sung by the gentle 24-year-old in the tunnel dungeons of Gaza as he tries to keep himself sane.
Advertisement
Sir Elton has previously declared himself a fan of Kneecap — admitting he 'loves everything about them'.
Alon was held with three other hostages, who were released in previous ceasefire deals.
They have told his mother about the nightmare he is enduring.
'Their legs were chained for many months, they were starved and sometimes they were badly beaten,' says Idit.
Advertisement
19
Hamas terrorists used motorised paragliders during the attack
19
Wrecked and burnt out vehicles at the festival site
Credit: EPA
'But at least they had each other. The three men Alon was held with have all been released.
'But we believe he is now on his own and, of course, we are so worried about it.
Advertisement
'The only thing that keeps me going is the hope that he will come out alive.'
MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!
Donald Trump
There has been a new ceasefire deal on the table for many weeks, which could secure Alon's freedom, but Hamas has refused to sign it.
Even though it would put an end to the horrendous suffering of the Palestinian people, it would mean them losing their hold on Gaza.
Just want them home
Yesterday morning, US President Donald Trump, who has said he is hopeful a peace deal could be agreed in the next week, highlighted the plight of the hostages on Truth Social, writing in bold capital letters: 'MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!! DJT.'
Advertisement
The question for the Israeli PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his cabinet remains: Save the hostages and allow Hamas to keep hold of Gaza, or try to completely defeat Hamas and risk the loss of the hostages?
This is why the families of those still being held are so determined they never be forgotten.
They just want them home.
The hostages are rarely talked about any more in television coverage of the conflict.
Advertisement
In countries in the West, posters of them are torn down.
When Israeli forces took command of a Gaza-bound aid boat carrying climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, she claimed she had been 'kidnapped'.
It was alleged she and other activists declined to watch footage of the October 7 horrors.
But the hostages are an ever-present reminder of Hamas's cruelty and the fact that they are — whatever the BBC may or may not have called them — a terrorist group.
Advertisement
19
At Glastonbury this week, punk performers Bob Vylan chanted, 'Death to the IDF'
Credit: Getty
19
Northern Irish rappers Kneecap led a chorus of 'F*** Keir Starmer'
Credit: PA
Windsor MP Jack Rankin has raised the case of Nova hostage Avinatan Or, 31, whose mother Ditza is British, in Parliament.
He was twinned with Avinatan's family as part of the Hostages And Missing Families Forum UK, and met with them last December.
Advertisement
Avinatan's kidnap, alongside girlfriend Noa Argamani, became front page news as they were pulled away from each other by terrorists who filmed it and put it on social media.
The politician says he is disgusted that there is apparent support for Hamas at Glastonbury and a failure to remember those murdered at Nova.
'The juxtaposition is quite sick, to be honest, and I put a lot of it down to a huge degree of naivety on the part of Western society,' says Jack, who hosted Ditza at the House of Commons in March.
'The reality is that if Hamas had the ability to, it would do the same to Western people at Glastonbury as they did at Nova.'
Advertisement
Earlier this year, Hamas released a harrowing propaganda video featuring Nova hostage Elkana Bohbot.
In it, he addressed his brother, Uriel, asking him to go to the White House and ask US President Donald Trump to urgently get him out.
Evyatar David, 23, is another musician who was kidnapped at Nova and is believed to still be alive.
We know from the hostages that have returned that they are in a tiny space — about one-and-a-half metres wide — underground, sleeping next to a hole in the ground that they use for the toilet
Evyatar's brother Ilay
He was filmed alongside best friend and fellow hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal in one of Hamas's sickest stunts.
Advertisement
The pair were videoed locked in a car surrounded by terrorists at a hostage release 'ceremony', pleading: 'Let us go.'
The footage was released to cause added torment to their desperate families.
In Gaza, captives have mainly been held underground, according to those who have now been freed.
'They sing together'
'We know from the hostages that have returned that they are in a tiny underground space — about one-and-a-half metres wide — sleeping next to a hole in the ground that they use for the toilet,' says Evyatar's brother Ilay.
Advertisement
'They have just enough food and water to keep them alive.
'I know that they sing together and talk about the festivals they have gone to and the ones they want to visit.
'Music is a big part of their survival in the tunnels because they have no stimulus at all.'
Ilay says that wherever people stand on the Israel-Palestine conflict, they should be speaking up against hostage-taking.
Advertisement
'This is a humanitarian issue,' he insists.
'Anyone who says they are for human rights should be speaking about the hostages, too.
'It is sad to think that there are festivals going on which are filled with Palestine flags, but no one mentions what happened at Nova.
'They should talk about how people who were at a festival because they love music are being tortured in tunnels more than 600 days later.'
Advertisement
Hell of captivity
THEY danced in the desert until dawn at Israel's Nova music festival.
But then terror struck on October 7, 2023, and these innocent revellers never made it home.
Most remain missing after being captured by Hamas.
Advertisement
Three were reportedly murdered.
19
Alon Ohel
Credit: IDF
19
Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David
Credit: Supplied
19
Avinatan Or
Credit: Supplied
Advertisement
19
Eitan Abraham Mor
Credit: Supplied
19
Guy Illouz (murdered)
Credit: Supplied
19
Bar Abraham Kupershtein
Credit: Supplied
19
Inbar Hayman (murdered)
Credit: Supplied
Advertisement
19
Maxim Herkin
Credit: Supplied
19
Uriel Baruch (murdered)
Credit: Supplied
19
Segev Kalfon
Credit: Supplied
19
Rom Braslavski
Credit: Supplied
Advertisement
19
Idan Shtivi (murdered)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
24 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Doechii at Glastonbury review – an education in rap from the greatest teacher in the game
When Doechii takes the stage at West Holts on Saturday night, she is introduced to us as Doechii the don, the dean, the supreme. Before the hour is out, no one in the audience will be left in doubt as to the Grammy winner's mastery of her craft, or how much work she has put in to achieve it. But at the same time as flaunting her natural ability, Doechii is also eager to show her working and the paths she used – and her debut UK festival appearance is all the more mesmerising for it. The 26-year-old performer's schoolgirlish styling – giant lockers, rows of desks, Doechii's long braids and exceedingly brief kilt – is immediately obvious as a feint: she may be a relative newcomer to the scene, but she is no rookie. The videos playing either side of the stage bring the set's concept into focus: Doechii (real name Jaylah Ji'mya Hickmon) is leading us, step by step, through the steps necessary to become a hip-hop master – from how to distinguish between 'good bars and GREAT bars', to understanding 'the aspect of flow' and the importance of genre. The overarching suggestion is that Doechii is the total package, and she makes it hard to argue with: she is pure power, head-to-toe sinew, as tightly coiled as a snake and just as hard to tear your eyes off. Doechii spits, she lunges, she sprints the length of the stage and seems to hardly pause for breath throughout the entire show. Should you catch yourself wondering where this force of nature sprung from, she's eager to tell you, peppering her set between snippets of Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, Missy Elliott and even Daft Punk. It not only adds richness to the show but also places Doechii within a musical lineage, identifying her as an artist who swotted up on the greats, then found a spin uniquely her own. After Bullfrog, the screens switch from black-and-white to vivid colour, and Doechii launches into Boiled Peanuts, defined by its irresistible, cackling refrain – the crowing 'ha ha ha' of a victor who knows herself to be head and shoulders above the competition. That triumphant glee extends into Nissan Altima: Doechii is held aloft by her posse of backing dancers, swinging her braids like the imperious head cheerleader. The show's pace is so relentless, the choreography so precise and the Doechii's flow so airtight that all the crowd can do is hold on and hope for dear life to be carried along. With her freestyle over America Has a Problem, from Beyoncé's Renaissance, Doechii challenges anyone who dares fancy themselves her competition to step up: 'I see a lotta bitches, I don't see a lotta stars / I hear a lot of rappers, I don't hear a lot of bars.' The follow-up nod, in that song, to the Barbz – Nicki Minaj's famously fanatical fanbase – makes Doechii's most obvious comparison explicit, but not only does she match Nicki's impeccable flow, she also bests her stage presence. Nicki's never been known as much of a performer, whereas Doechii runs the length of the stage in heels and throws her body around like it's another special effect at her disposal. Through Alter Ego, she's flirtatious, casting coy glances over her shoulder, then antagonistic, spitting fire from a low squat position. Doechii's association with alligators, appearing on the cover of her album Alligator Bites Never Heal, is apt: they share the same implacable ferocity, bared teeth and glint to the eye. A dance break involving umbrellas adds to the spectacle, but slightly obscures the school of hip-hop through-line. The show restores equilibrium with Persuasive, Doechii's track with SZA – obviously performed tonight without her, but with such force that you don't feel the absence. Doechii's back and forth with her DJ/hype woman Miss Milan adds to the party atmosphere; by the time she launches into Nosebleeds from atop of a giant pair of speakers with her dance troupe way below, the crowd is hanging on her every word. From that apparent peak, the highs only continue with an X-rated performance of Crazy and a rendition of her hit Anxiety that blasts the sample, Gotye's Somebody That I Used to Know, with heavy distortion. For all her immense technical ability and precision, there's actually something quite metal about Doechii in her commitment to spectacle. On top of all that, she has a strong, clear voice, capable of acrobatics but not inclined to launch into them just for show. On GTFO, she spars with her dancers, then the camera; for Catfish, she shows off her vocal timbre, descending into a guttural, bristling growl. It is brilliant, but unrelenting; a reprieve from all that intensity arrives with Denial is a River – Doechii's Salt-N-Pepa-esque, gossipy hit about a cheating partner and the narrator's own self-deception. It's presented within the educational framework of tonight's set as an exemplar of 'the art of storytelling', and more than delivers on that promise: Doechii is relaxed, self-deprecating and conversational with Miss Milan. You could happily watch her riff in this register for hours. As it is, Doechii concludes her 'school of hip-hop' with a rousing rendition of Boom Bap, then skips off stage. It might seem anticlimactic – West Holts seems to be left slightly reverberating by her sudden absence – but it's in fact one last lesson: a true master knows to always leave the crowd wanting more.
The Herald Scotland
28 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Trump says US is 'not going to stand' for Netanyahu's corruption trial
"How is it possible that the Prime Minister of Israel can be forced to sit in a Courtroom all day long, over NOTHING (Cigars, Bugs Bunny Doll, etc.). It is a POLITICAL WITCH HUNT, very similar to the Witch Hunt that I was forced to endure," Trump said on June 28 in the post on Truth Social. Netanyahu thanked Trump in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Together, we will make the Middle East Great Again!" he said. Israel's main opposition leader Yair Lapid criticised Trump's statement, saying he should not "intervene in a legal process of an independent state," the BBC reported. Trump said the trial complicates negotiations with both Iran and Hamas. The United States targeted several nuclear sites in Iran after Israel launched an air war on June 13 and tensions erupted between the Middle Eastern nations. Hamas attacked Israel out of Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023 and is still holding hostages, while Israel has unleashed strikes on the strip for nearly two years. Trump also said the ongoing trial "tarnishes" the "victory" from bombing Iran, which agreed to a ceasefire after the US bombed several nuclear enrichment facilities. "It was the United States of America that saved Israel, and now it is going to be the United States of America that saves Bibi Netanyahu," Trump said in a separate post earlier in the week. "THIS TRAVESTY OF "JUSTICE" CAN NOT BE ALLOWED!"
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Tell us: what have you been reading this month?
As part of The Guardian's 'what we're reading' series, we would like to hear about the books you've particularly enjoyed this month. Have you read a book in recent weeks – fiction or non-fiction – that you'd recommend? Tell us all about it below. You can get in touch by filling in the form below. Your responses are secure as the form is encrypted and only the Guardian has access to your contributions. One of our journalists will be in contact before we publish, so please do leave contact details. If you're having trouble using the form, click here. Read terms of service here and privacy policy here.
