‘Our world stopped on October 7:’ Mother of hostage Yagev Buchshtav appeals for his release

As daylight dawns on the 24-hour rally for the hostages in Tel Aviv, Esther Buchshtav, whose son Yagev was taken hostage with his wife Rimon, demands the return of the hostages.

“Fortunately, Rimon and [some] other women and children were released in the first deal. Unfortunately, my son was not,” she says.

Yagev and Rimon were taken captive from their home in Kibbutz Nirim on the morning of October 7. When Esther Buchshtav heard from her son that Hamas terrorists were shooting through his window, she told him to crouch down and stay protected. That was their final interaction before he was abducted.

“Sunday, 8 in the morning, 100 days. Our world stopped on October 7 at 16:09. We woke up in Kibbutz Nirim in the Gaza envelope to a nightmare. Our lives, and the lives of many others in the country and around the world, stopped on this day,” Buchshtav says.

“We heard this week about the transfer of medicine. The question is who knows what their medical state is now? What medicines do they need? They need to be in their homes, so they can be cared for in their homes — now,” she adds.