After 15 months of abandonment, hostage homes are empty memorials

AP — After 15 months of war, the homes of Israeli hostages are like time capsules of a war zone.

There’s a small blue bicycle flung to the ground outside the house of the Bibas family — all of whom, including two young boys Kfir and Ariel, are still in captivity.

Nearby, the walls of Oded Lifshitz’s home are singed, the ceilings have partially collapsed, and scars of the initial Hamas attack Oct. 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and the elderly man and his wife, Yocheved, were among the 251 people abducted.

The home of Oded Lifshitz, a hostage who was abducted into Gaza by Hamas terrorists in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Portraits of the hostages have been affixed to the doors of their homes. Someone has laid a sunflower next to a photo of David Cunio, who remains in Gaza after his wife and twin girls were released in a hostage exchange a year ago.

Many are marked by graffiti left by Israeli forces during the days or sometimes weeks of fighting that followed the terrorists’ attack, to show houses cleared of fighters. Some are marked for eventual demolition because they are extensively damaged.

The home of Ariel Cunio and Arbel Yehud, hostages who were taken captive into Gaza by Hamas terrorists in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

One hundred hostages remain in Gaza, at least a third of whom Israeli officials say are dead. There’s a glimmer of hope that negotiations on a Gaza ceasefire, restarted this week after months of failed efforts, might be able to bring them home. A new video released last weekend by Hamas showed Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, still alive.

But there’s also deep fear. This week, troops brought back to Israel the body of Itay Svirsky, who was killed in the initial Hamas attack and whose body was taken to Gaza.

The home of Matan Zangauker, a hostage who was abducted into Gaza by Hamas terrorists in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg).

The abandoned homes stand as a testament to growing grief among families who still don’t have their loved ones home after more than a year — and wonder if they ever will.

The home of Ofer Kalderon, a hostage who was abducted into Gaza by Hamas terrorists in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

The home of Aryeh Zalmanovich, 85, a hostage whose body is held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in Kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)