From the Liveblog of
Sunday, November 26, 2023
Avigail Idan’s grandfather hails her release, says wound of her parents’ murder will never heal
Carmel Idan, grandfather of released hostage Avigail Idan, says he could not believe his eyes at first when he saw pictures of Avigail on her way back to Israel, after her release by Hamas.
“It was just wow. I didn’t believe it until I saw it,” he tells reporters outside his home. “Now I’m calm, but not completely calm because there is happiness, but there is also the absence of Roee and Smadar.” Avigail’s parents were murdered by Hamas terrorists at their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7.
Carmel says he had understood that Avigail, 4, would be released in the first phase of the hostage releases, on Friday, “and we were looking. She’s not there! What disappointment. Russian roulette. We were waiting on the second day. Again, Avigail isn’t there! We couldn’t believe it.”
While it is an incredible joy to see Avigail on her way home, he says, “there are many people who haven’t yet come back. I greatly want them to be returned and that the IDF finish what it has promised: All the hostages [back] and Hamas [destroyed].”
He says he has “an open wound that will never heal” with the murders of Smadar and Roee.
Carmel says he has not been allowed to speak to or meet with Avigail yet. Asked what he’ll tell her when he is allowed to see her, he says, “I won’t tell her anything. I’ll kiss her, stroke her, hug her. Speak, no? There’s nothing to say.”
He thanks President Biden: “We love him very much for all the help he is giving us, to Israel. Keep going. Keep going. We don’t admire you. We love you.”
Avigail and her two brothers are dual US citizens, as was their mother.
Carmel says he has not said anything yet about Avigail’s release to siblings Michael, 9, and Amalya, 6, who survived the October 7 ordeal including by hiding for 14 hours in a closet. They are “in shock and with a psychologist,” he says. “They are deeply sad.”
