Released hostage Erez Calderon, 12, issues video plea for captive dad’s return
Youngster says he hopes clip will somehow reach father Ofer, who was also abducted on October 7 and has been held in Gaza ever since
Erez Calderon, a 12-year-old former Hamas hostage, made an emotional appeal Monday for the release of his father, who has been held captive in the Gaza Strip since October 7.
Calderon posted a video to Instagram, explaining he had made the clip in the hope that his father, Erez, may somehow get to see it. He said it was hard to talk to the camera but “if it reaches my father it is worth it.”
Ofer Calderon was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz with his son Erez and daughter Sahar on October 7, when the Hamas terror group led a devastating attack on Israel, butchering some 1,200 people. Erez’s grandmother Carmela Dan and his cousin Noya Dan were both murdered in the assault.
Sahar, 16, and Erez were released on November 27 as part of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel.
Noting that in two months he is to celebrate his bar mitzvah, Calderon asked viewers, “How can I celebrate… when my father is in Gaza?”
“I have a clear goal in life — that he return,” he said.
ארז קלדרון:
אני ארז קלדרון. היום החלטתי לשתף את הסיוט שאני עובר מאז שחטפו אותי לעזה.
ב-7 באוקטובר, כמה ימים לפני יום ההולדת ה-12 שלי, נחטפתי לעזה. מחבלים התנפלו עליי וגררו אותי בכוח בלי נעליים ובלי בכלל להבין מה קורה מסביבי. לקחו אותי מהמשפחה שלי. ניסיתי לחפש את אבא שלי, אבל… pic.twitter.com/RSL1vjume8
— ש????ולי ???? ????️????️???? Sh????uLi (@Shaulirena) September 3, 2024
His plea came days after Israeli soldiers found the bodies of six hostages in a Gaza tunnel. Autopsies showed that the captives were shot dead just a day or two before troops found them.
In the video, and an accompanying post, Calderon described the moments he was snatched and the horrific scenes of the terror attack.
Some moments of Calderon’s abduction were filmed by terrorists and shared on social media.
Recalling the events of October 7, which began with a massive barrage of thousands of rockets fired at Israel, Calderon said he and his family heard the shooting but thought that it was from Israeli soldiers.
“Then it all started,” he said.
When terrorists entered their home, the family initially sought refuge in their sealed bomb shelter. They were captured after they exited through a window and tried to run for safety.
Calderon said a terrorist grabbed him and took him to a motorcycle.
“I tried to look for my father, but all I saw were terrorists with weapons and bodies thrown on the floor,” he said.
The last time he saw his father, Calderon said, Ofer was on his knees and bleeding as terrorists rained blows on him.
“Imagine how I felt when I was separated from my father when he was all covered in blood from the blows the terrorists gave him. It’s a moment that never leaves me,” he said.
“Yesterday I heard that terrorists murdered six hostages. I can’t stop thinking I don’t want my dad to be next.”
Calderon said that while he was in captivity he heard his mother, who was not captured, speaking on the radio to appeal for the hostages’ release.
It was only once he was released from captivity that he found out his father was still a hostage. He said he hoped that, just as he was able to hear his mother, his father would see the video he made.
Ninety-seven of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 33 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 37 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
US officials have insisted that a deal to stop the fighting in Gaza and release the hostages is within reach, but major gaps remain between the sides, including on whether the halt will be permanent.
In addition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been insisting that Israel retain control of the Philadelphi Corridor, which Israel says is a major smuggling route on the Egypt-Gaza frontier — a demand that is a nonstarter for Hamas.
There have been massive daily protests in Israel this week calling for the government to reach a deal with Hamas to free the hostages.
According to the Washington Post, a “take it or leave it” outline being developed by the US, Egypt, and Qatar has been in the works since before Israel discovered the bodies of six hostages over the weekend. If rejected, it may spell the end of American mediation efforts, the report said.
