(Toronto) Little Ofri Brodutch had barely been released from her captivity by Hamas when she was already talking about her next trip to Canada.
Posted at 4:51 p.m.
Fakiha Baig The Canadian Press
However, according to Aharon Brodutch, her Toronto-based scientist uncle, the 10-year-old girl’s enthusiasm to meet her Canadian relatives did not disguise her physical and mental health.
Ofri, his two younger brothers and his mother were among the hostages captured by Hamas after its brutal attack on Israel on October 7. According to Israeli authorities, the attack killed around 1,200 people. This triggered a bloody Israeli army response that lasted nearly two months and left more than 15,500 people dead, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza.
The Brodutch family was released the next week. Uncle Aharon met her in an Israeli hospital.
“They are functional,” he said. They find it difficult to talk about what happened to them because it is extremely traumatic. They had lost a lot of weight. They were in bad condition. »
Aharon Brodutch was at home in Toronto when he received numerous messages from his younger brother Avihai, who lives on a kibbutz near the Gaza border. He described two Hamas fighters who had just completed a paragliding flight.
The three-year-old daughter of her neighbors and best friends knocked on her door and asked for help.
Aharon Brodutch tells his brother that he asked his wife to take care of the girl before rushing to the local gun shop. Along the way, he saw close friends killed fighting Hamas militants. Then he received a message from his wife that burglars had just broken into the family home. When he returned it was empty.
The Brodutch brothers feared the worst. However, a day and a half later they learned that all hope of seeing her alive again was not lost.
“We learned that someone saw them being taken outside and put in a car. The vehicle was heading towards Gaza,” says Aharon Broducth about his sister-in-law Hagar, his niece Ofri and his nephews Yuval and Uriah.
The Toronto scientist flew to Israel a few days later to be with his brother.
He adds that the Israeli government initially seemed more concerned with destroying Hamas than releasing the hostages. He and his brother demonstrated with signs in front of the army headquarters. Aharon’s daughter began writing letters to the UN and “anyone who would listen.” to express concern for the lives of their relatives and other hostages
PHOTO AHMAD GHARABLI, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
On December 2, Israeli citizens gathered in Tel Aviv to demand the release of more hostages held by Hamas.
A ceasefire was concluded between Hamas and Israel to allow the exchange of hostages and prisoners. The Brodutches were released on November 26 without serious injuries. However, the accident deeply traumatized her. Her little neighbor was also released.
Aharon Brodutch doesn’t want to reveal too many details about what his loved ones experienced for fear of endangering the safety of those remaining in captivity, but claims they are struggling to cope with the reality, especially the two boys.
While eight-year-old Yuval seemed to have some understanding of what was happening to him, Uriah, who was four years younger, had no idea.
“He doesn’t understand what happened other than he was very mistreated. He doesn’t understand why,” says Mr. Brodutch, praising his sister-in-law.
He added that the October 7 attack destroyed his family’s sense of security in their kibbutz.
More than 50 people died in this community, whose members were close to one another. A large part of the community was destroyed.
Aharon Broduch
While it’s easy to organize Ori’s next summer trip to Toronto, the Brodutchs’ future in their home country is far from clear.
“It will be very difficult for them to return home,” says the Torontonian.