KFAR SABA, Israel (AP) — Ohad Munder-Zichri’s ninth birthday was Monday. But instead of celebrating at home with his family and friends, he is believed to be somewhere in Gaza, one of more than 200 hostages held by Hamas since the terrorist group’s devastating attack on October 7.
The fourth-grader from the central Israeli city of Kfar Saba was kidnapped along with his mother and grandparents during a holiday visit to his grandparents’ kibbutz in Nir Oz, on the Gaza border.
Ohad’s beloved uncle died in the attack in which Hamas terrorists massacred over 1,400 people, including more than 1,000 civilians. The boy, his mother and his grandparents disappeared. The only information about them came from a cell phone signal that was traced to Gaza.
It is this uncertainty that torments Ohad’s grieving father Avi Zichri the most.
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“I keep imagining what he’s going through. He is a sensitive boy. Did he see dead bodies? He wears glasses. Did they take her away from him? Can he see anything?” Zichri said as he nervously chain-smoked cigarettes on his porch.
“I constantly think about every scenario and hope for the least catastrophic one. I just hope he’s okay and with his mom.”
This photo provided by Avi Zichri shows his son Ohad Munder-Zichri on October 1, 2023. (Courtesy of Avi Zichri via AP)
Zichri has been living in this nightmare for 17 days and says the thoughts never leave him and the only relief comes when he takes sleeping pills that knock him out for the night.
“And then I wake up in the morning and feel guilty because I didn’t think about her while I was sleeping,” said the 69-year-old.
Ohad is Zichri’s only child with his partner Keren Munder, a 54-year-old special education teacher and volleyball coach for children with disabilities. He is also the only grandchild of Avraham and Ruti Munder, both 78, who disappeared with them from Nir Oz, where about 80 people – almost a quarter of the small community’s residents – are believed to have been taken hostage. Ohad loved visiting his grandparents and uncle there.
At home he is a gifted student who enjoys solving Rubik’s cubes and playing football, tennis and chess. He is a huge Liverpool FC fan and his bedroom, which has been untouched since his abduction, contains team souvenirs, his various trophies, family photos on the walls and the elaborate Lego constructions he loved to build.
“He is incredibly smart and charming and very verbally developed. He’s constantly teaching me things and I sometimes forget he’s only 9 years old,” Zichri said.
Monday’s birthday provided an opportunity to raise awareness of Ohad’s plight.
This photo provided by Avi Zichri shows his partner Keren Munder and their son Ohad Munder-Zichri on September 17, 2023. (Courtesy of Avi Zichri via AP)
There was an outpouring of local and international support. Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Michael Herzog, launched an international social media campaign calling for people to send him virtual birthday cards.
Members of Ohad’s favorite Israeli soccer team and other prominent Israeli athletes recorded birthday greetings and wishes for his safe return. Yellow balloons bearing messages honoring his birthday in captivity were scattered throughout his hometown of Kfar Saba, while other local initiatives also took place. Local media widely recognized the day and friends posted their appreciation on social media.
But for Zichri, it was just another day in a series of agonizing days where fear consumed every moment.
“I wish I could celebrate with him today. But it doesn’t feel any different. You just have to wake up and worry,” he said. “And every day it gets worse.”
Zichri was waiting for Ohad and his mother to return on October 7 when he heard air raid sirens warning of incoming missiles. He instinctively reached out to Munder, knowing that she and Ohad were much closer.
Zichri took out his cell phone and showed them the last exchange.
This photo provided by Avi Zichri shows Zichri with his partner Keren Munder and their son Ohad Munder-Zichri on September 1, 2023. (Courtesy Avi Zichri via AP)
“There is continuous firing here and there is concern that terrorists have entered the villages,” Munder wrote at 7:24 a.m
She wrote that they hid in the safe room and she locked the door. She said she had left her phone charger in the kitchen and might soon run out, but she managed to let Zichri know that they had turned off the news so Ohad could watch a TV show in peace to distract him from it to distract from what was going on outside.
“Let’s hope this ends quickly and no one gets hurt,” she wrote in her last message at 7:39 a.m. “Take care of yourself and follow the instructions of Homefront Command.”
Zichri said it was typical of Munder to “always care about others first than himself.”
Zichri said he shudders at every report of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and wonders whether they have harmed his loved ones. The only thing that keeps him going during the endless, agonizing wait for information is the support of a small group of friends and the vision of one day seeing his son and Munder again and falling into their arms in a tearful embrace.
“I can only hope,” he said. “There’s nothing else I can do.”