From the Liveblog of
Monday, August 12, 2024
Sister of captive IDF soldier says she wants Iran to ‘get it over with already’ so hostage deal can move forward
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Sasha Ariev, whose sister Karina Ariev was taken captive by Hamas terrorists from the Nahal Oz base where she was serving in the surveillance unit on October 7, tells The Times of Israel that the impending Iranian attack “doesn’t interest us.”
“I say to Iran and Hezbollah, ‘Go ahead, attack and let’s get it over with already’, so we can continue our battle to return the young women,” she says.
Karina Ariev is one of five young women taken hostage from the Nahal Oz army base, along with Liri Albag, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy.
Sasha Ariev, about to turn 25, is a neurobiology student at Hebrew University. She paused her studies and work for the last 10 months to lead her family’s efforts in urging the government to move forward on a hostage deal.
The Arievs, along with the other families of the female hostages, are asking that the government begin any hostage release with the young women, one of the details that caused the last hostage agreement to fall apart, she says.
“I’m trying to be the backbone of the family, to hold everyone, to raise morale, to continue to function and not to give up,” said Ariev, who moved home to be with her parents after October 7. She speaks regularly in the Israeli and international media and meets with Israeli companies, groups and organizations to discuss the hostage situation.
Ariev’s parents, Albert and Ira Ariev, are struggling, says their elder daughter. They do not want to give up, but every day is a little bit harder, as they experience the helplessness of being unable to free their younger daughter from captivity, says Ariev, who organized a community event of prayer and solidarity in their Jerusalem neighborhood on August 5, to mark Karina’s 20th birthday in captivity.
“It doesn’t matter what I do each day because when I get into bed at night, at the end of a long day, I want to sleep but I can’t because my thoughts keep running,” said Ariev. “How can I sleep when we haven’t succeeded in bringing Karina and all the other hostages home? How can I sleep when I’m in my bed and she’s a hostage?”
