12:59 a.m. ET, November 28, 2023
Teenage siblings freed from Hamas captivity only to learn their mother was murdered
By CNN’s Jessie Yeung. From left: Noam Or and Alma Or. Forum “Hostages Missing Families”.
During the 50 days that Noam and Alma Or were held captive in Gaza, one thought kept the siblings going: reuniting with their mother, from whom they were separated on October 7 during Hamas’s brutal attacks on their community.
But when Noam, 17, and Alma, 13, were released together on Saturday, “that dream was shattered by the fact that she was murdered,” said the siblings’ maternal uncle, Ahal Besorai.
“My sister and her mother were murdered on October 7th. The children didn’t know,” he told CNN from the Philippines. “We thought they were together when they were kidnapped, but they were separated from the start.”
“When they first crossed the border and met their grandmother and older brother again, the first news they were confronted with was the fact that their mother was no longer alive. And that was a terribly emotional and traumatic moment for her,” Besorai added.
The siblings’ father, Dror, remains missing and is believed to be held captive in Gaza.
Some context: Hamas is believed to have held more than 200 hostages in Gaza before the negotiated release with Israel. Under the landmark ceasefire agreement, groups of Israeli citizens and other nationals have been released every day since last Friday, while Israel has released imprisoned Palestinian women and children from its prisons, many of whom have never been charged or convicted. The original four-day ceasefire was extended by another two days on Monday as stories began to emerge from the families of the freed hostages, offering the first glimpses of life in captivity.
Read more about the Or family’s ordeal Here.