Some 100 people were kidnapped by Hamas this past weekend in Israel. Here is the story of one Minnesota family who was taken from their Kibbutz.

They exchanged text messages and emojis. Brief status updates with words of encouragement. A picture of the beloved family dog “Tutsi.”

Until no more messages came.

And then, Cindy Flash, an American, and her Israeli husband Igal vanished into the violence, presumed kidnapped by Hamas.

Four days after Hamas attacked Israel, more than 100 Israelis and potentially dozens of foreign nationals are thought to be held captive in the Gaza Strip. At least 14 U.S. citizens have been killed and an unknown number are still unaccounted for.

Flash, 67, originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, is one of them. She lives in Kfar Aza, a kibbutz in southern Israel near Gaza, where some of the most harrowing and grisly stories have been emerging during the last few days.

“They are breaking down the safe room door,” Flash said in one of her final messages to her daughter Keren, 34. “We need someone to come by the house right now.” She had been communicating with her parents from a few houses away.

Keren described her mother, who worked as an administrator in a local college, as someone who had the “sweetest biggest heart,” who everyone knew and loved, and who had spent a lifetime advocating for the rights of Palestinians, including those who live in Gaza where she may now be held.

  • a new sad me@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9614·
    1 year ago

    Israeli here:

    1. Every house in Israel has to have a safe room by law
    2. The place where she lived was close to the border but completely within Israel. It wasn’t a settlement at all.
    3. Most kibbutzim in Israel are known to be centre-left. This is well-known to anyone who even vaguely follow the Israeli media (and Hammas follow)

    Hammasb (not the Palestiniens, Hammas) knew exactly who they murder. There is no excuse to wash their hand.

    • TinyPizza@kbin.social
      2732·
      1 year ago

      So then Israel (not it’s people, but the military) know exactly who they murder now? So when they now and in the past murder civilians there’s also no excuse?

      1. I didn’t know that about the safe rooms, thank you for the context.
      2. The article states she lived “right next to the security fence” and while I’m sure it’s within the border that still doesn’t mean it’s a great place to build. Nobody said it was a settlement.
      3. There’s no excusing the attack, rationalizing who they attacked or how they went about it. Again thank you for pointing this out because it highlights that this was either an indiscriminate attack against anyone and anything Israeli or that they were purposely trying to spoil the sentiment of those who would speak out against what now comes after. Were they just that diabolical or was it an attack of opportunity in terms of location and defense? You tell me.

      Edit: also, aside from all that. I’m truly sorry this happened to your country and your people. I wish you all peace and an end to the bloodshed.

    • Lucent@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1762·
      1 year ago

      “It wasn’t a settlement at all.”

      Your entire country is a settlement.

      There are Palestinians that are older than your “state”.

      • Tavarin@lemmy.caEnglish
        354·
        1 year ago

        Palestine became a state at the same time. there was never a Palestine before that.

        • jack55555English
          412·
          1 year ago

          It’s slightly older, it became a British mandate state in 1920.

              • Tavarin@lemmy.caEnglish
                102·
                1 year ago

                Because it was still basically part of Britain, not independent. Like Canada wasn’t it’s own country until 1867 when we were made independent from British control.

                • jack55555English
                  27·
                  1 year ago

                  A state doesn’t need to be independent. Texas isn’t independent. Chechnya isn’t independent.

                  • Tavarin@lemmy.caEnglish
                    22·
                    1 year ago

                    We are currently using the word state for it’s sovereign meaning given the context of this conversation, not for it’s meaning as a part of a country. In the context of this conversation state is equivalent to country.

          • Cleverdawny@lemm.eeEnglish
            1·
            1 year ago

            Yeah the area has always been a provincial administrative division but I’m pretty sure the last time there was a sovereign state controlling that general area, it was a Crusader kingdom. Before then, it was Judea before the Roman conquest. Relying on historical sovereignty isn’t a very good argument since the area wasn’t sovereign before 1948, and it was divided by UN mandate in 1948.

      • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.worldEnglish
        113·
        1 year ago

        Every country is a settlement, you’re really not making a point.

        Look into the chain of events that caused Israeli/Palestinian enmity, then what caused those events, and so forth. You’ll find the only innocent side here are the civilians.