A second delegation of family members of the murdered and abductees will travel to Rome on Tuesday for meetings with the country's leadership, senior lawmakers and key figures in the Jewish community, with the aim of bringing the Israeli abductees home from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip. The delegation is part of a series of delegations initiated by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gesher and the AMI Administration.
Listen: The last conversation between Ilan Regev and his daughter Maya // Courtesy of the family
The delegation will meet with Italy's most senior political echelon: Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini, Defense Minister Guido Cruzetto, and the presidents of the Italian Parliament and Senate. In addition, the families will participate in the large event of the Jewish community of Rome, headed by the president of the community of Rome, Victor Fadlon.
Some of the members of the delegation are of Italian descent and will be interviewed by major Italian channels. Hamas is currently holding four Israelis with Italian citizenship captive and five were murdered by the despicable terrorists.
Italian Prime Minister Meloni (archive), photo: AP
The first delegation of the PR campaign is now in London, where the families spoke yesterday at a rally in support of Israel in Trafalgar Square attended by more than 15,<> participants. In addition, the members of the delegation were interviewed by major media outlets in Britain and yesterday participated in a series of meetings with members of the British Parliament.
Ilan Regev, father of Maya and Itai, who are in captivity in Gaza, said: "Our ultimate goal is to bring the children home, to receive a sign of life. We are going out to tell the world that innocent children and civilians are being held in Gaza. I hope that with the pressure exerted, we will receive immediate assistance in bringing our children home safe and sound."
A show of support for Israel and the abductees in London, photo: AP
Adar Ayalon, Shira's sister who was murdered on behalf of Hamas terrorists at a party in Re'im, said: "I promised my sister at her funeral that I would do everything I could so that the whole world would know what she went through. The fact that an innocent girl was murdered in the forest, and to add insult to injury, the countries of the world are demonstrating against us, is intolerable to me."
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Shikli said: "The journey of the families of the abductees and murdered from the events of October 7 continues, this time to Rome, for a series of meetings with the country's top political leadership. We will turn over every stone in order to exert international pressure for the release of the abductees and allow the IDF and the State of Israel to receive extensive international backing for an all-out war against Hamas."
Diaspora Minister Amichai Shikli, Photo: Gil Kramer
Members of the families who embark on the information delegation to Rome:
1. Ilan Regev, Maya's father, and Itai, who are in captivity in Gaza. On Saturday, October 7, his two children, Itay (18) and Mia (21) – both Italian citizens – were kidnapped from a party at Kibbutz Reim. In Mia's last conversation with her father, while shouting on the phone during the attack, she told him: 'They're shooting at me, they're shooting at me,' and then she added: 'They're killing us, they've killed us, I'm in the car and can't get out. I love you.' Later, in the video that was published, Itai was seen in a hostage truck when his sister, Mia, managed to take a short video of herself from another vehicle. The two landed in Israel a few hours before the party. Ilan has another 14-year-old son.
Maya and Itay Regev who were abducted to Gaza, photo: courtesy of the family
2. Chen Eshet Avitar's cousin, who was kidnapped from the party in Re'im. On Saturday, October 7, Chen's cousin, Evyatar (29), a discharged soldier, was kidnapped from the party in Reim. Evyatar lived in Kfar Saba with his parents. He attended a party that took place in Reim. When the massacre began, he was in contact with his sister Hudia until 08:00 A.M. After the connection was severed, they began to search for a connection to him, and at around 11:00 A.M. she arrived at around <>:<> A.M. from an unknown number, videos released by Hamas. In the first video, Evyatar is seen shirtless being led by a terrorist, with his hands behind his back, looking safe and sound. In the second video, he and several other people appear to be lying on the floor, with their hands behind their backs, with bruises on his face. In the second video, Evyatar is clearly seen and recognizes that it is him. Beyond the videos, no information has been received about him and it is not known where he is or what his condition is. To the best of the family's knowledge, he is safe and sound.
3. Yuval Danzig, son of Alex, kidnapped in Gaza. Alex, who was born in Poland, was one of the pioneers in establishing youth delegations to Poland, and is the son of Holocaust survivors. Alex was in contact with his son Yuval until 08:15 a.m. on Saturday, and in their conversation he told his son that he heard the sounds of explosions and gunshots, and that terrorists seemed to have penetrated. As of 09:00 A.M., Alex's phone was no longer available, and from information that the Shin Bet gave the family earlier this week, Alex's phone location indicates that by 10:30 A.M., he was already in the Gaza Strip. At 18 p.m. that Saturday, the IDF arrived at Alex's house, empty and apparently showing no signs of injury. Alex, 00, has a heart condition and needs to take essential medication on a daily basis.
4. Nadav Kipnis, whose 12 family members were murdered or are held captive by Hamas, many of whom were reported missing and out of touch. His father, Evyatar Kipnis (65), his mother Lilach Kipnis (60), and his uncle, Avshalom Haran (66), were murdered. Eight members of his family, his aunt Shoshan Haran (67), along with her daughter Adi Shoham (38), her husband Tal Shoham (38) and their two children, Yahel Shoham (3) and Neve Shoham (8), are still considered abductees. In addition, his uncle's sister, Sharon Avigdori, 52, and her daughter, Noam Avigdori, 12, were kidnapped. Relatives who came to celebrate the holiday from Chicago and stayed in Nir Oz, Yehudit Raanan (59) and Natalie Raanan (17) were released from captivity a few days ago.
5. Adar Ayalon, Shira's sister who was murdered by Hamas at a party in Re'im. On Saturday, October 7, Adar's sister, Shira Ayalon (23), was murdered at a party in Re'im. At 07:00 A.M., she called her father to say that missiles had fallen, and she would wait for the panic to calm down and return home, since she has not answered the phone. The phone was later located in Gaza, so it was initially believed that she had been kidnapped. Five days later, the city officer arrived and informed them that her body and that of her friend had been found. The third friend who was lost at the beginning of the shooting was shot in the legs and pretended to be dead for 5 hours, and therefore survived. It took 24 hours to retrieve Shira's body from the site of the disaster, and she was buried on Thursday afternoon after 6 days.
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