Since Saturday morning, the family of Moran Yanai from Beer Sheva has been living in a nightmare. They don't know what has happened to her.
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The last sign of life they received was in a film that was shared on social media in which Moran is being held by the terrorists, pleading for her life, with one of the terrorists saying in the background: "We've captured one of the Jewish bitches. Here she is."
Video: Moran Yanai / Courtesy of the family
The clip is accompanied by the following caption: "There are those who stay with their mother and sleep, and there are those whose mother escaped and went into Gaza." Her family doesn't know if Moran is still alive, whether she is being held in Gaza or was murdered and her body dumped somewhere, and they are feeling great despair. Moran's brother Leon told Israel Hayom, "From time to time we're trying to get in touch with her, we're sharing her details on social media. We think that world leaders need to get involved and to act so that Hamas will free the captives. We just feel helpless. She's so scared in the film, it's hard to believe that she's being held by those psychos."
Moran, 40, went to the nature party in Re'im to sell jewelry that she had designed. She was so excited at the opportunity that fell into her lap; she posted a story in which she wrote that it was a dream for her, showing how happy and carefree she was. Then came the attack on Shabbat.
"My dad managed to get in touch with her at seven in the morning. She told him that they were shooting at them and they were escaping. At 8:30 my mum managed to get in touch with her again and she said that they were still being shot at and her battery was running out. It was the last time we spoke to Moran," Leon said tearfully. Since then, they've tried to locate her, gathered every little piece of information, and got in touch with several friends who were with her and survived the massacre.
The testimonies reveal that Moran escaped with a group of friends and that each time there was an encounter with terrorists, the group split up and hid on the ground. At a certain stage, she was left alone in hiding until she was captured. On Saturday night the family saw the film in which Moran is being held by the terrorists and pleading for her life.
"Moran is a sensitive person, who loves peace. She always spoke about and strove for peace. She helps everyone and volunteers, loves animals is active in organizations that save animals, and is loved greatly by everyone. She went to the festival to sell the jewelry that she designs," Leon said before adding, "We're trying to approach anyone who can help us to get her back, to bring my sister home, together with the other captives. None of the authorities have contacted us with information yet. They say that it's being checked. There are no concrete answers about what happened to her. We understand it's a difficult situation, there are thousands of families here who are going through the same thing. We know what's happening, but it doesn't make it easier."
She stressed, "We expect the government to work as quickly as possible to return the captives. And not only the government. World leaders too. These are innocent citizens who didn't do anything. Something like this shouldn't happen anywhere and the world mustn't be silent. How can good people, who live their lives and do good, didn't do harm to anyone, simply be taken like that? The world needs to do something urgently."
