12-year-old Ella Bay has a large family photo taken just one day before October 7.
Almost all the family members are there, and Ella is seen standing next to her grandfather, Haim Perry.
She likes to look at this picture, which commemorated a routine moment in her life, when grandfather Haim and grandmother Esnet, the five children and 13 grandchildren gathered.
Three and a half months after the Sabbath of horrors, Ella's grandfather is still kidnapped by Hamas.
While the lives of many of her friends somehow got back on track, Ella's heart remained on October 7.
Who can concentrate on studies and exams when grandfather is a prisoner in Gaza and no one knows when he will return.
Instead of focusing on things that should occupy a girl-girl her age, she finds herself responding to posts on social networks, explaining at school about the deals for the release of the abductees, and on weekends she shows up at rallies with the sign of Grandfather Haim, understanding that he, and all the other abductees, must be returned home quickly .
22-year-old Yuval Mansour, the granddaughter of Shlomo Mansour, who currently lives in a hotel on the Dead Sea like the other members of Kibbutz Bari, also goes to work almost every morning as a shift supervisor at the kibbutz's printing house.
Officially she is there until the afternoon, but her head and heart are focused on the fight to return Grandpa Shlomo.
Even her WhatsApp profile picture shows her next to her grandfather, who is smiling lovingly under his moustache.
She keeps saying how happy she would be to take a picture with him again.
Yuval Manzur in Grandfather Shlomo's carpentry in Kissuf.
"I'm waiting for him to come back, and then I'll kiss his cute bald head", photo: Eric Sultan
"The elderly abductees", that's how they are called in the headlines, but the family members say that they may be older in age, but their minds are bright, clear and sharp.
Daniel Lifshitz's 35-year-old grandfather, Oded Lifshitz, is one of them.
Since the grandfather was kidnapped with his wife, Yochaved, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, grandson Daniel has not had a single moment of routine.
Instead of wandering among wineries in the world, as the owner of a wine importing company, he flies to give lectures to Jewish communities around the world, meets with Qatar's ambassador to the United Nations, tries to stir up public pressure, and more.
Daniel Lifshitz at Hatofim Square in Tel Aviv.
"I'm already waiting to hear what he has to say about everything that happened", photo: Maya Baumel Birger
"Not only my grandparents were kidnapped that Saturday, but also my friends," he shouts.
"People I grew up with and slept with, and they are like my brothers. Nir Oz is a small, family-like kibbutz, and you can tell a lot about everyone who is now a prisoner. Everything must be done to bring everyone back."
Three grandsons, each one a partner in the struggle to free his grandfather from the hands of the murderers.
Three grandchildren who agreed to share their childhood memories, the close relationship they had with grandfather, longing for conversations with him, and hoping that he would come back and be proud of the activities of each of them.
The Bat Mitzvah celebration awaits
Ella is one of the granddaughters of 79-year-old Haim Peri, her maternal grandfather, one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz.
On the Sabbath of horrors, he fought the terrorists as best he could.
In one of their attempts to break into his house, Haim ordered his wife, Asnet, to hide - and was kidnapped.
Esnat's life was saved.
On Ella's neck is a pendant that is given to every member of the family who has reached the age of Bat Mitzvah, and on it are engraved the words "special in kind".
On October 22, a few weeks after the outbreak of the war, she celebrated her 12th birthday, and given the circumstances she considered giving up the celebrations.
But Grandma Esnet asked that you celebrate, and the family didn't give up either.
By the way, the original pendant, which was already ready at my grandparents' house in Nir Oz, has disappeared.
Good people who heard their story managed to make a new identical pendant for them.
"We decided that we will have another birthday celebration when grandfather comes back," Ella is excited.
Ella receives a hug from her grandmother Haim (third from the left) at a family gathering, the day before the disaster.
"We stayed on October 7", photo: Neta Bey
She is a gentle and sensitive girl.
In Kibbutz Nachshonim near Rosh Ha'Ain, where she lives, school studies are going on as usual.
"The feeling at the beginning was that everyone around me was with me. But since then time has passed, and the students have returned to a kind of routine of exams and starting in the new division, which is difficult. On the weekends I participate in the rally, and when I go back to school on Sunday, I don't always deal with the situation.
"We, in our family, stayed on October 7. I don't understand how it is possible to do anything other than dealing with abductees. I am exposed to a lot of things that I probably wouldn't know if it weren't for my family. After all, not every child my age knows in detail what The abductees passed.
"Other students don't always know how to approach me, and it's hard for me. But I didn't want to hide or avoid, so I asked to speak in my class, and then at school. I talked about the deals that were made to free the women and children, and I explained why my grandfather wasn't included in them. I'm not You went into shocking details, but the children today know much more than they think."
"People write out of evil"
For these episodes she stops the tears, waves her long hair back, tries to preserve the sweet memories of the special relationship with grandfather.
The trips to the kibbutz, the trips in the van and going to the pool together, along with Friday meals followed by trivia questions - when the grandfather and grandmother always have a related story.
She remembers the game of "taki" that exploded after she did not reach an agreement with Seba Haim on the rules of the game.
"He really fought with me and couldn't understand that the laws have changed in recent years," she laughs.
Her mother, Noam, comments from the side that she inherited her competitiveness from him.
Ella: "I saw the stills from the video of Grandpa and the two abductees online - and I broke down. He doesn't look good there, and I'm debating whether to watch the full video. I know I'll need a lot of mental strength to watch it, and I'm waiting to save it up."
Haim Perry's personality always had a practical side, which manifested itself in manual labor in the blacksmith shop, and at the same time the soul of an artist.
He is one of the owners of the "White House" gallery in Otef, and even authored two children's books.
One of them, "Grandpa and Ella are looking for the moon", which he planned to publish on his 80th birthday, wrote about his beloved granddaughter.
Ella also remembers that grandfather built a wooden car, in which each of the grandchildren rode when they were toddlers.
The last time they met was on Friday, one day before he was kidnapped.
The whole family celebrated Simchat Torah at Ella's house, and in the last complete family photo, Ella is next to grandfather, smiling.
Ella Bey with Grandpa Chaim Perry, photo: Noam Perry
About 12 years old, her Instagram account is private.
But when she sees posts related to the abductees, she comes out of the shadows and reacts on the networks, answering the detractors who criticize the call to release the abductees even at a high price.
"There was someone who wrote that they must be freed only in a military operation, and I felt the need to explain to him that apart from the rescue of Uri Magidish, a military operation failed to lead to the release of the abductees alive. Another time they wrote a disparaging response, as if it made sense that some people were kidnapped to Gaza because of their political views. It shocked me , was very extreme for me. I understood that sometimes people write simply out of evil."
Ella also found out about the video that Hamas distributed a month ago, in which Haim Peri and two other abductees, Yoram Metzger and Amiram Koper, are recorded through social networks.
"Indeed, I was having a relatively good day, in a reasonable mood, and suddenly I saw a still image from the video online - and I broke down. I came angrily to my parents, how could they not have told me such a thing, and they told me that they themselves did not know about the video. My grandfather does not look good in the still image, and I I'm debating whether to watch the video itself. I know I'll need a lot of mental strength to watch it, and I'm waiting for the moment when I muster it up.
"There is some expectation that the next time there is a liberation campaign, my grandfather will be among those released, on humanitarian grounds. I feel that I need to know as much as possible about the progress in the negotiations, if there is any, rather than hoping every day that something new will happen - and being disappointed. The knowledge that they might be handed over to the abductees Medicines are a little comforting, but no one can really know that the medicines will actually reach them."
Ella: "Other students don't always know how to approach me, and it's hard for me. But I didn't want to hide, so I asked to speak in front of the class and the school. I explained why my grandfather was not included in the release deals that were made, but I didn't go into shocking details."
In the months that passed without Grandpa, Ella managed to accumulate successes and experiences about which she longs to tell in his ears when he returns.
She shows me a work she prepared for the roots project at school, in which Haim's picture is visible on the poster of the headquarters for the release of the abductees, alongside a shirt, disks and bracelets with the logo in Hebrew and English "returning them home now".
"He's not here to see it, but I'm keeping it for him to see. I know he'll be proud of me. I have a lot more things to tell him. For example, I'd like him to know that Grandma is fine. Everyone who came back from captivity and met my grandfather said that he went crazy with worry for Esnath So I would like him to know that she is fine, that we are all fine, and that we are really waiting for him at home."
The inspiration for "Operation Grandma"
Shlomo Mansour, Yuval's maternal grandfather, will celebrate his 86th birthday this March.
He is the oldest abductee who is now in the captivity of Hamas, after being taken from his home in Kibbutz Kissufim.
For Yuval, this title is very important.
"I don't know if it sounds egotistical, but it has value mainly in advocacy," she emphasizes.
"People need to know that the terrorists showed no mercy to anyone - from the smallest baby to a person in his 80s. It's unimaginable. Every night I go to bed with the questions in my head: how and why. And it's hard."
"People should know that the terrorists showed no mercy to anyone - from the smallest baby to a person in his 80s."
Yuval Mansour, photo: Eric Sultan
She is 22 years old, tall and delicate.
Her hair rests softly on her shoulders.
This week she arrived at what was left of her grandparents' house in Kisifov.
Among the walls that are holed from the marks of the shooting and the destruction on the floor, Yuval sits down on the dusty couch and places a white plastic chair with a red pillow next to her.
This is how she would sit every time she came to visit.
She is on the sofa, and he is next to her, on the plastic chair with the red cushion, eagerly devouring her stories.
Now, with teary eyes, she places his picture on the chair, until he returns.
Then you'll pass the busy carpentry shop and the abandoned bicycle with the front basket that held a tool.
She was born in Eilat, and at the age of 12 she moved to the Moshav Ein Hashour in Otaf.
For the past year and a half, she lived and worked in Kibbutz Bari.
Now she lives in the David Hotel in the Dead Sea, together with Barry evacuees.
Every morning, at 6:15, she gets on the bus to her job at the Bari printing house, as a shift supervisor at "Albumi" (a website for creating digital albums).
At 17:30 she is back at the hotel.
"There are days when I can't do it anymore," she confesses, "but I have a commitment to work, and it gives me something to occupy myself with. If I'm sitting at home, my head goes straight to thoughts.
"My grandfather is my whole life. Really. I am his biggest fan. Everyone around knows it. Every Friday he and my grandmother, Mazal, would come to my mother's house in Ein Hashur, and we would all eat together. Every time I was the one who gave him I eat, pour him wine or arak before the meal, as he likes, and even talk to him about my personal things.
"People raise an eyebrow about the fact that my grandfather is my confidant, but yes - I consult him about boys and girlfriends, I share a lot with him. He understands dynamics between people and always has good advice. He is also a man of peace. Always when I argue with my mother mine or with my brother, he explains to me how to understand the other side as well and reconcile with them. As a carpenter for the kibbutz, he would also give carpentry lessons to children in kindergarten, and the children love him immensely. Even now they talk about him. When the movie 'Operation Grandma' was filmed, I I wasn't born yet, but I watched it quite a few times, and I know that the character of the carpenter there is based on my grandfather."
Yuval Mansour with Grandfather Shlomo, photo: from the private album
When she moved to Bari, Shlomo's grandfather got her a pair of bicycles and invited a professional to paint her apartment.
As she reminisces about childhood memories in his presence, she smiles.
She remembers how when she was little she would mumble the words "I love you" in English, and since then the graceful mumbling has remained.
Until the last conversation between them, she always said goodbye to grandfather with the words "I Wov You".
"Until the age of 12, we lived in Eilat, and when my grandparents would come, they would sleep in my room. After they left, I would find notes on the mirror or on the bed, in which they wrote, 'Thank you for the hospitality,' 'You are charming,' 'Be nice to mom,' and all Kind of greetings. My birthday is on October 12, and my grandfather always wrote me a greeting. This year I didn't receive a greeting."
"Yuvali Mokoli", that's how Grandpa Shlomo used to call his granddaughter, who is now eagerly waiting to hear the words again.
"I have a hard time with the word 'abducted.' He had a good few minutes to type. But he would answer."
"I like pistachio ice cream the most"
When the terrorists infiltrated the Otaf settlements on Black Sabbath, Yuval was with her mother and her 19-year-old brother in their home in Bein al-Bashur.
Grandpa Shlomo and Grandma Mazal were in their home in Kisufim.
"It's a regular custom with us: when there are alarms, we call them. At 6:45 I was still talking to Grandpa. At 7:30 they already stopped answering. In retrospect, we know from Grandma that the terrorists entered and captured them both.
"They asked her for the keys to the car. The terrorist grabbed her shirt, but she threw his hand away, and he let her go. In the meantime, she saw that they had handcuffed my grandfather and given him a slap in the face. She asked them, 'Why are you beating him? He is an adult,' And Grandfather came back after her and asked, 'Why violently?'. Then he went with them.
"My grandmother managed to escape to her neighbor in the kibbutz and sat with her in the MMD while the terrorists tried to burn down her house.
She was only able to get in touch with us at first thing in the morning, and it was very difficult for her to tell us that they took Baba to Gaza.
It was unimaginable.
I was sitting next to my mother when she was talking to my grandmother on the phone, and I heard their conversation.
When I realized what happened I lost it, I started crying on a crazy level.
"The emergency squad of Ein Hashur fought and managed to prevent terrorists from entering, but we sat for more than 25 hours in the MMD not knowing what was happening with my grandparents, and in the meantime I heard that my friends and girlfriends were being attacked and kidnapped.
We will remain scarred for life."
Yuval: "My grandfather has been my whole life. My secret man. I would consult with him about boys and girlfriends, share with him. He understands dynamics between people and has good advice. He is also a man of peace. When I fought at home with my mother or my brother - he took care let's finish"
The last time she met her grandfather was on October 3.
"I just returned from a month-long trip to the USA.
I was supposed to travel for a few months, but I had an inner feeling that I should return sooner.
The day after I landed I went to my grandparents.
I told them experiences, showed them pictures, we had a lot of fun.
At first I still hesitated whether to go to them, because the whole family was supposed to meet anyway on the Shabbat of Simchat Torah, but I felt that I wanted to see them first.
And in general, we planned to have an ice cream meeting, like my grandfather likes.
He likes pistachio ice cream the most.
"I think about him a lot, nonstop. I'm interested in what he's going through in captivity. If he's eating, if he's being kept in normal conditions. I know he's not in a five-star hotel, but I want to know if he's being treated well. My grandmother saw that he was kidnapped. He even managed to say to the terrorists, 'I am an adult, why are you treating me in such a disrespectful way?'
"I think he's getting along, but for more than 100 days he doesn't eat well, he doesn't sleep in his bed, and every extra day he spends there puts his life at risk. I try to stay optimistic, but it's very hard. I want him to know that I'm waiting for him to come back , then I will kiss his cute bald head and not leave him."
Yuval: "I think about him non-stop. I'm interested to know if he's eating, if he's being kept in normal conditions. I know he's not in a 5-star hotel, but I'd like to know if he's being treated well. When he was kidnapped, my grandmother saw that he was slapped."
Sometimes Yuval finds herself falling apart again, from longing.
"People sometimes tell me to take a step back, to take care of myself, because I'm still young. But I want to take care, and I want to be part of the fight. For me, my grandfather is everything to me, and I will fight and fight until he and the last of the abductees return.
"I don't go to meetings in the Knesset, because that's where my aunt and Grandpa's sister go, but I participate in rallies, tell about him. I also talk about Grandpa on social media. I do everything possible. At the same time, I also take care of my grandmother, who volunteers at the civilian HML to stay busy
It makes her feel good, but she is also very worried.
"I heard the reports about the drugs being brought into the Strip, for the abductees who need them. The truth is that this does not reassure me, because if they are given drugs, the question arises as to how long they intend to keep them. We, for example, do not know if my grandfather is injured or not, but It is certain that after three months, his condition, at his advanced age, will deteriorate. He was taken from home without his hearing aid, and he can hardly hear at all. I really hope that he manages not to be completely cut off."
The cactus garden awaits
Daniel Lifshitz also takes care of his grandfather, 83-year-old Oded, who was kidnapped from his home in Benir Oz.
This, along with the additional concern for his kidnapped friends with whom he grew up in the children's home in the kibbutz, including Sagi Dekel Chen and the brothers Dolev and Arbel Yehud.
Another concern is for his grandmother, 85-year-old Yochaved Lifshitz ("Yochka", as grandfather Oded affectionately calls her), who was also kidnapped on October 7, and released on October 23 along with Nurit Yitzhak Koper, as part of the humanitarian exchange deal.
Yochaved Lifshitz after her release.
"Thinking about the rest", photo: Gideon Markovich
"Our family is very involved in the event," Daniel repeats.
"My mother was evacuated from Nir Oz and only now entered the house in Karemi Gat, with the whole kibbutz, and we are doing everything possible. Even my brother is fighting in Gaza in the reserves, and he is still there. I really hope that neither he nor any other soldier will try to rescue hostages, because we Aware of the devastating results of the attempts."
From the first moment, Daniel is involved in the great struggle: starting with his joint activity with the headquarters to return the abductees, to independent activities such as a meeting with the ambassador of Qatar to the United Nations, and ending with the use of his mother's Swedish citizenship in an attempt to involve Sweden in the struggle to return Oded, who is his paternal grandfather, and all the abductees .
He is divorced, the father of an 11-year-old daughter. He grew up in Nir Oz, and today lives in Tel Aviv.
"As a child, I was as close to my grandparents in the kibbutz as I was to my parents," he reminisces.
"To this day, when I have an emotional interest I talk to my grandmother, and when I have an interest in talking about the situation in Israel or about music and history - the conversation will be with my grandfather, who is truly a man of Eshkolot in every inch of his body.
An exceptionally smart person, who always has solutions, and solid opinions about everything.
He always thought that the right and just thing should be done.
My daughter calls him grandfather, because for her he is really a mixed grandfather, not a distant great-grandfather."
Daniel: "I have no place or desire to concentrate on anything else right now. All I can think about is the starvation, terror and abuse that the abductees undergo in captivity. Only after we return them can we be rebuilt as a moral and functioning society."
Daniel still remembers his Bar Mitzvah trip, where his grandparents took him to Tanzania and Zanzibar.
"It was an unforgettable two-week trip, and it was so much fun to spend time with them in these places. Even when I grew up, I spent a lot of my everyday life with them. I took care of them like my parents."
He pulls out a mobile phone and shows a photo taken last summer, in which he and his grandfather are recorded on the beach in handcuffs.
"We sat and talked over a beer in front of the sea, and then we jumped on the waves. My grandfather loves the sea. He loves nature, and he had perhaps the most beautiful cactus garden in Israel. He has a fondness for quality music. I remember when I was young I was driving with him one day and I wanted to to hear a song by the band Metallica. He didn't understand why he had to listen to such loud music in the car, but he agreed," he laughs.
Daniel Lifshitz with grandfather Oded, photo: Sharon Lifshitz
"Blood pressure and lung problem"
Daniel replays in his head hundreds of times the moments of the kidnapping.
How grandfather Oded tried to hold the door of the medical center and was hit in the hand by the terrorists' shots. How he said to Yochaved, "Yes, there is a war", because he understood that a great event was taking place.
"And then they pulled them from the safest place, the house, to the strip, this section is constantly in my head," Daniel's voice broke.
"We must restore the sense of security to the Israelis, and there is no security or success in this war without returning the abducted. Even if it means making concessions. I am worried that they will not return soon enough. We need to be creative and pay the price, which is only rising, and bring home the people who were abandoned on October 7".
On the day of the kidnapping, the terrorists separated Oded from his wife Yochaved, and none of them knew what happened to the other.
Only when Yochaved was released, two and a half weeks later, did she discover that her husband was alive.
Later, another abductee who was released said that she saw Oded in a leash wearing a balaclava, anxiously calling out Yuchka's name.
In another case, Oded was seen by another abductor when he received medical treatment, probably due to an injury he sustained on Shabbat of horrors.
Then he was taken, and since then nothing is known about him.
"He didn't feel well the Friday before, and that was extremely worrying," Daniel exclaims.
"He has blood pressure and lung problems, and he requires medical treatment. He has almost no chance of surviving without his pills. If we get confirmation that he received medication as part of the deal, it will bring hope. He would sometimes faint in the kibbutz at home, and Dolev, who was also kidnapped, He would have come to take care of him. My best friend from the orphanage used to take care of my grandfather at the kibbutz, and I hope he might take care of him now too."
Daniel: "Grandma Yochaved is a very strong woman, and we are very lucky that she is with us. She almost collapsed in captivity, she would not have lasted much longer. Since her release, she has recovered physically, but mentally she is very far from that. Emotionally, she is still there."
Daniel assumes that if there is talk of a new humanitarian release deal, his grandfather will be a candidate to be included in it.
But throughout the conversation he repeats and emphasizes: "The situation of all the abductees is so critical that the deal should be done today. I can assume that the first steps will include the adults, women and children who still remain there, but a deal should include everyone.
"There is not a day that I do not wake up with a huge internal difficulty and anxiety about the situation. My weeks are not usual. Even if I am a little bit in my business, importing wines, I do not have a moment when I can be quiet and peaceful. I am constantly thinking about how to promote their return from Gaza . And every time I think about my grandfather, I don't really know how he's holding on there. If he was a healthy person, I'm sure he would be taking care of everyone around him. I'm sure it drives him crazy to know that the people are being held captive.
"He never imagined that the IDF would not be there to prevent such an event.
His biggest fear, which we talked about quite a few times, was that a crowd of Gazans would stand on the border and try to break in, and Israel would have to use the air force to prevent entry.
But he, like others, never imagined that thousands of terrorists could go over fences like this, kidnap people and do shocking things for hours."
Grandma Yochaved has meanwhile moved to sheltered housing in the center of the country, and Daniel makes sure to spend time with her as well.
"She is a very strong woman, and we are very lucky that she is with us. She almost collapsed there, she would not have lasted much longer. Since her release, she has recovered physically, but mentally she is far from that. Emotionally, she is still there, thinking of those who remained in captivity and were At the time of the last liberations they knew they were alive, but today we no longer know.
"I really hope my grandfather is still alive, and I want him to know that I love him and am already waiting to hear what he has to say about everything that happened. I'm sure he has something to say. He is the character that always brought our whole family together, and we miss him very much.
"I have no place or desire to concentrate on anything else right now. All I can think about is the starvation, terror and abuse that the abductees undergo in captivity. Only after we return them can we be rebuilt as a moral and functioning society, together with the amazing people we see at any given moment in the struggle" .
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