Bay Area families of Israeli hostages demand Hamas release their loved ones
SAN FRANCISCO -- As hundreds rallied in San Francisco calling for the release of Israelis hostages, Bay Area residents are sharing stories of loved ones being held captive by Hamas.
For eight excruciating days, Yael Nidam has been holding her breath, unable to function.
"My life is shattered. None of us have been able to eat, sleep, breathe," she said.
An Israeli PhD Student at Berkeley, she came to Civic Center Plaza Friday morning holding a picture of her sister-in-law who was kidnapped by Hamas.
"Her name is Rimon. She's a wonderful person. She's a caregiver. She adopts wounded animals and nurses them back to health," she said of her sister-in-law.
Nidam came to speak at the San Francisco "Bring Them Home" rally organized by Bay Area Israelis hoping to raise awareness about the roughly 150 families whose loved ones have been captured by Hamas during its surprise terror attack on Israel.
As she spoke to the crowd, Nidam recounted the chilling messages her family got from her sister-in-law moments before she was abducted.
"At 6:48 a.m. Rimon texted her mother, 'I hear gun shots all around me. Terrorists entered our kibbutz.' At 7:30 she texted, 'We're surrounded.' At 8 a.m. she said, 'I hear gun shots and blasts there is fire outside.' 8:26 a.m., 'They're shooting at me mom.' 8:29, 'I love you. I love you mom.' These are the last words we heard from Rimon," she told the crowd.
The solemn rally was attended by hundreds of Bay Area residents who are urging Hamas to release the hostages, most of them civilians taken from their homes.
City Supervisor Catherine Stefani choked back tears as she vowed to stand by Israel.
"As a mother, my heart aches for the families who lost children and loved ones in this tragedy," she said.
Even thousands of miles away from the war zone, fears of violence against Jews were on the minds of many. For the most part the event went uninterrupted, except for lone man who tried to disrupt the rally but was drowned out by the crowd chanting, "Bring them home!"
Nidam said all she can do now is wait.
"I want to bring her home as soon as possible," she said.
