Israelis mark another Passover hoping for Gaza captives to be freed

NAHAL OZ, Israel — Relatives of hostages in Gaza say they feel the absence of their loved ones acutely during Passover, which commemorates the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and their liberation from slavery.

Jews around the world will mark the beginning of the weeklong holiday Saturday night, gathering for a meal called a Seder that features symbolic foods and rituals to help recount a biblical story about bitter times, a flight from tyranny and, eventually, freedom.

In Israel, the second Passover since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, deadly attack stirs up a mix of complicated emotions — especially for those whose family members are among the 59 still in captivity in Gaza.

Last year, many families left an empty seat at their Seder tables to remember those killed or taken hostage on Oct. 7.

A Seder without ‘daddy Omri'

Lishay Miran Lavi recalls Passover two years ago as if it were a different life. In 2023, Passover fell four days after she gave birth to her second daughter, Alma. ''We were a full family then, two parents, two daughters,'' she said.

Her husband Omri Miran, who turned 48 on Friday, is one of the 24 hostages in Gaza still believed to be alive.

April brings a host of difficult days for the Miran family: Alma's second birthday, Omri's birthday, and the Passover holiday. They mark all the milestones because Miran Lavi wants her daughters to experience some joy. But each time the family gathers to blow out the candles on a birthday cake or sing songs during their Passover meal, it only sharpens Omri's absence.

Each night before bed, Roni leads Alma in wishing their father goodnight, telling him what they did that day, what they learned at school and the things they want to do with Omri when he comes home. Alma, who knows Omri only through photos and videos, doesn't really understand what a father is, Miran Lavi said.

''She knows that she had a father that is named Omri, and she calls him daddy Omri,'' she said.

Alma was six months old when Hamas militants burst into their home on Kibbutz Nahal Oz, forcing Lishay, Omri, Alma, and their then 2-year-old daughter, Roni, into their neighbors' home. Militants, who had just killed their neighbors' 18-year-old daughter, broadcast a Facebook livestream of everyone being held hostage in the kitchen, before kidnapping the fathers, Omri and Tsachi Idan, to Gaza.

Idan's body was released during the last hostage exchange.

Hamas killed around 1,200 people and abducted 251 during its cross-border attack. Since then, Israeli bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which says women and children make up more than half the fatalities but does not distinguish between civilians and fighters.

Miran Lavi says she was shocked, then furious, when Israel ended a ceasefire last month that had facilitated the release of more than two dozen hostages. She can't help but think about how if the ceasefire and the hostage releases had continued, Omri would have been home by now.

Watching the return of other male hostages, emaciated and pale, Miran Lavi is terrified for her husband's condition. Recently released hostages said they had seen Omri in captivity, but Miran Lavi has no details about his current condition. "I know this is the time Omri needs to come out,'' she said.

For one family, it is too painful to celebrate

Viki Cohen said her family has not marked any Jewish holidays since her 20-year-old son, Nimrod, a soldier, was taken by militants from his tank in southern Israel.

''We don't gather as a family, because it reminds us how much he is missing, and that he's not with us, and it's very hard for us,'' she said. The only time the extended family gathers is at protests.

But Cohen found a way this year to help keep hostages' memories alive during Passover. She illustrated a children's Haggadah, the text laying out the rituals and story recited during the Seder.

She sprinkled colorful references to the hostages throughout the Haggadah to help spark discussions about them — a scorpion for Ohad Yahalomi, who loved the desert; a bushy mustache for Shlomo Mansour; cactuses lovingly tended by Oded Lifshitz; Batman symbols for Ariel Bibas; and a Rubik's cube for her son, who was obsessed with the puzzle and left one behind in his tank on the day he was abducted.

Cohen says her heart clenches when she sees other families gathering for Passover or taking trips abroad. She worries that as time passes, Israelis are beginning to normalize the unresolved hostage crisis.

''People are returning to their lives, but what about us?'' said Cohen, who is opposed to Israel's decision to halt humanitarian aid to Gaza because it hurts both hostages and Palestinians.

She encouraged everyone attending a Passover meal around the world to ''adopt'' one hostage to talk about during their gathering, and to ask themselves what they can do to pressure the Israeli government to reach a deal to free the remaining hostages.

After captivity, some are back in Israel for this year's Seder

Last year, many families of hostages couldn't imagine marking the holiday, explained Meirav Leshem Gonen, whose daughter, Romi, was released in January after 15 months in Gaza.

''Her absence was so strong, even just sitting around the table, not to hear her voice, her laughter, it was unimaginable and impossible,'' she said.

This year, the family is reunited but painfully aware of the thousands of homes across Israel where families are grappling with absences — the families of 59 hostages still in captivity or those killed in the war, or others who were wounded or are still serving in the reserves, Leshem Gonen said.

She hopes the holiday can encourage more unity within Israel.

''It's a holiday about liberation and working together, and a nation's strength when they work together,'' she said.

It's traditional for families retelling the Passover story to find ways to make it relevant to today — a task that has extra meaning for Michael Levy, whose 34-year-old brother, Or Levy, was released from captivity in February.

''This is the Exodus from Egypt for the modern days,'' he said.

___

Follow AP's war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war