From the Liveblog of
Saturday, January 20, 2024
Speaking at rally, mother of hostage says she didn’t recognize daughter in photo from captivity
Cnaan Lidor is The Times of Israel's Jewish World reporter
Life feels like death for Shira Albag, she tells thousands of people on Tel Aviv Hostages Square tonight.
Thoughts of her daughter Liri Albag, 18, who is held hostage in Gaza, “never leave me.”
“I wake up alive and I got to sleep feeling dead,” says Shira.
Two weeks ago, she says at the 15th weekly really for the release of more than 130 people presumed to be held hostage in Gaza, images of Liri and three other women in captivity emerged.
“It took me a while to recognize her, to understand that that girl in the blue sweatshirt is my daughter,” says Shira of her 18-year-old daughter.
“If I’m having it tough, how tough is she having it? She cries out to me, I can hear her calling for help, with no one to protect her and hug her. But there are those who can save her, and we can make it happen,” says Shira Albag, referencing the government and pressure for it to make deal for the release of the hostages.
