Foreign Minister Eli Cohen visited the town of Netivot in southern Israel with Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, as part of the solidarity visits of world leaders organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Among the many victims were also Italian citizens.
The foreign ministers spoke with Yoni Asher, whose wife and daughters were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip.
“I didn’t prepare anything to say,” Yoni commented, displaying pictures of his two daughters.
“When my wife called me on Saturday morning, whispering, terrified, that she heard gunshots and people entering the house and that they were locked in the safe room, I thought to myself it was best to be quiet and disconnected the call. This was our last call. I thought to myself, ‘This is hell.’ For the next few hours, I was trying to get information, trying to talk to my mother-in-law, trying to locate her phone. I saw that her phone was in Gaza and thought, ‘No, this is hell’."
Yoni continued: "Later on, when I recognized them in a video, surrounded by terrorists screaming ‘Allah hu-akbar’ and putting a cover on my wife’s head, when I recognized my older daughter Raz’s purple dress - she is less than five, and my younger daughter Aviv is less than three - and when I saw that video, I thought to myself for the third time, ‘No, this is hell.’ I have no training in diplomacy and security, no understanding of that kind of matter. They are babies. They need treatment. My wife needs medicine. Babies cannot be in captivity much longer."
He added: "My grandfather’s wife, Tirza, who passed on at the age of 100 a few years ago, was a Holocaust advisor. I never thought I’d see a holocaust. I don’t know who to approach or what to say. No one prepared a script for me. I just want the world to know that there are babies in captivity, held by I don’t know who, but there is immediate danger to their lives. I don’t have another family. I don’t know how I can survive if something happens to them. The situation gets worse with every day that goes by. Those are babies. I miss the smell of their hair. Yesterday, I went into their room, hugged the pillows, and cried. I can’t look at their photos, open their drawers, look at their clothes. I can’t allow myself to focus on their pictures for more than ten seconds. But you know - the third time that I thought, ‘This is hell’ was not when I saw that video, but when I started to hear of the sights around them and thought, ‘No, this is hell.’ I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, I can’t think of anything else. I know that the political world is a cold and cynical world. Please, I’m begging you, everyone that can hear me, it doesn’t matter who, don’t hurt them. Time is critical. Each day that goes by, the chances that they will suffer are much bigger.”
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen commented: "We embrace the residents of the enclave and present to the world the horrors they experienced. The meeting with Yoni was tearful and heartbreaking, we all hope that he gets to see his wife and daughters healthy and whole as soon as possible. We heard the stories of the citizens who faced here, as in other settlements in the region with the risk of death while murderous terrorists roamed the streets with the aim of slaughtering citizens, women, children, old people, without any distinction."
"Italy is a close and important ally of the State of Israel. The visit here today is further proof of that. I thank my good friend, Foreign Minister Tajani, for the support and solidarity and for coming to the south in order to show the residents of Israel, Italy, and the world that Italy stands by the people of Israel and supports our rights, without reservation, to protect our citizens against the murderous terrorist organization Hamas."
"These solidarity visits strengthen international support for Israel and expose the visitors to the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists."
Minister Tajani commented: “These are the same crimes of the Nazis in World War Two. They were not committed against soldiers but against regular people. To kill a soldier is to fight, but to kill people without weapons is a crime. This is not the action of a strong man, of a fighter. This is the action of a voracious, bad man whose avarice is incredible. We must all work against this.”
Later in the day, more foreign leaders are expected to arrive in the south in order to express sympathy with the residents of Israel. Yesterday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited Israel and gave a joint address with Prime Minister Netanyahu.