Those We Have Lost

Suhaib Abu Amer Razeem, 22: Minibus driver from East Jerusalem

Driver was captured by Hamas on October 7 from site of Supernova and killed in Kibbutz Be’eri

Suhaib Razeem (Courtesy)
Suhaib Razeem (Courtesy)

Suhaib Abu Amer Razeem, 22, from East Jerusalem, was killed in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7 after he was kidnapped by Hamas from the Supernova music festival and brought there to serve as a translator.

Razeem, a minibus driver, was waiting near the site of the festival to bring partygoers home when Hamas attacked. Footage from that day shows Hamas accosting Razeem and demanding to know who he was. Some of the terrorists in the video suggest letting him go, nevertheless they kidnapped him and brought him to Be’eri.

In Be’eri, the terrorists brought Razeem to the home of Pessi Cohen, where he and 14 other civilians were held together, while Hamas attempted to negotiate with IDF soldiers who had arrived on the scene.

The terrorists used the hostages as a bargaining tool to demand safe passage to Gaza, intending to bring the hostages with them. They threatened to kill the hostages if the IDF opened fire. According to the two survivors from inside the house, the terrorists positioned the hostages between themselves and advancing IDF troops as a gun battle blazed.

One terrorist surrendered, using one of the survivors, Yasmin Porat, as a human shield as he exited the house, thus saving her. The gunfire between the sides continued for several hours, until, near dusk, the terrorists launched a rocket-propelled grenade toward the troops, according to reports. IDF commander Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram ordered troops to fire two tank shells at the house. Only one civilian emerged alive from the carnage. It is not clear who inside the home was killed from IDF fire and who was slain by the terrorists, and the family members of those killed inside the house have demanded an investigation.

Razeem’s body was only identified 12 days later, during which time his family searched frantically for news, unaware of his whereabouts.

Ultimately they announced the confirmation of his death “with great sadness and grief… we had hoped that you would return.” He was buried on October 19 in Jerusalem.

The circumstances and location of his death were not known until weeks after he was killed. His family said that they were originally mistreated by the police when they tried to track down his whereabouts, and told to “go ask Hamas.”

His brother, Abed, told the Kan public broadcaster that “all day I think [about him], I can’t sleep at night, I’ve had enough of life.”

In December, Abed and another brother, Mahmood, retraced Suhaib’s footsteps with The New York Times while attempting to uncover his true fate.

“If they knew he was Arab,” said Abed, “why didn’t they let him go?”

Mahmood said, “People ask me who killed him, but I don’t know how he died. I decided to come here to try to find out, hoping that if I know more about his last moments, the pain will ease.”

Read more Those We Have Lost stories here.

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