From the Liveblog of
Thursday, May 8, 2025
Mother of Tamir Nimrodi says he’s one of the hostages who may no longer be alive
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Herut Nimrodi, mother of hostage soldier Tamir Nimrodi, says in a Zoom meeting with journalists organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum and MediaCentral that her son is one of the three captives who may no longer be alive.
“It’s not that there’s new information,” says Nimrodi. “They are just mentioning the three hostages for whom there have been no signs of life since October 7.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday there is “doubt” as to whether three Israeli hostages held in Gaza are still alive, after comments by his wife and by US President Donald Trump had called into question Israel’s official estimate that 24 living hostages remain in the Strip.
As other hostages have been released in hostage deals or rescued from captivity, they have brought signs of life from other hostages.
“As hostages came home, we wished we’d get some details of Tamir, but nothing,” says Nimrodi. “There’s no indication yet and we’re still waiting.”
Nimrodi says there are serious concerns as to whether her son, an education officer serving in the Defense Ministry body that liaises with Palestinians on civilian affairs, has survived captivity, though those concerns have existed for the last 19 months.
“It’s been a very emotional couple of days for me because everybody has been asking me about Tamir,” says Nimrodi. “And there’s nothing new, but the comments from Sara Netanyahu and [US President Donald] Trump just raised the question of what has happened to him.”
Nimrodi was one of the first hostages taken captive when he was abducted at 7:15 a.m. on October 7 from his base near the Gaza border. He texted his mother that morning, telling her he would be home soon.
Late that afternoon, his 14-year-old sister found a video posted by the terrorists on Instagram, showing Tamir in pajamas, barefoot and without his glasses. He was hiding his face so that the terrorists couldn’t hit him as hard.
“The last footage showed him being led by force into Gaza,” says Nimrodi. “And that’s the last sign of Tamir. There’s no indication whether he survived or not.”
“As a mother, I’m very worried,” she says. “If he’s surviving, if he’s held alone. I can’t even describe what that means to me.”
The Times of Israel Community.