Northern Rivers group A Mother’s Cry carried signs and pictures of the hostages calling for hostages to be released. Photo supplied
A Mother’s Cry once again marched to the Byron Bay Lighthouse on Sunday 14 January to call for the immediate release of the 133 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. The date marked 100 days of captivity for these 133 hostages that includes the youngest hostage, Kfir Bibas, will turn one today (18 January, 2024) if he is still alive.
A Mother’s Cry, is a Northern Rivers group that has been ‘holding regular gatherings “to raise awareness of the hostages” plight, marched on Sunday with local residents to the iconic Lighthouse in solidarity,’ stated the group in a press release.
‘The group carried signs and pictures of the hostages in an act of unity that is part of the global #RunforTheirLives campaign, amplifying the call to #BringThemHomeNow. The march to the Byron Bay Lighthouse, a symbol of guidance and protection, served as a metaphor for the light our community hopes to bring to those held in captivity.’
The impact of Hamas’ kidnapping, shooting, and rapes on October 7 and the aftermath have directly impacted many members of the Northern Rivers Jewish community. Many people have family or friends that have been killed, kidnapped or severely injured or still have family members in areas of Israel that continue to be directly targeted by rockets and incursions from Hamas and other affiliates.
‘Livnat Kutz, her husband Aviv and their three children Rotem, Yonatan and Yiftach Kutz, were all murdered by Hamas in their home on October 7. Livnat’s cousin (who has asked to remain anonymous), is a local Northern Rivers resident. The son of Tsvika, a much loved community member, was murdered at the Nova party. Ron, a father in our community, lost his good friend Tal Eilon. Unfortunately, even for our small community, there are several more examples. [One local’s] younger sister, [had] four of her friends murdered at the Nova party and one taken hostage.’
One-year-old Kfir Bibas
‘Kfir Bibas was taken with his mother and brother Ariel. Hamas, in late November claimed they have all been killed, though there is no other evidence to confirm this,’ said a spokesperson for A Mother’s Cry.
‘Kfir and Ariel’s father Yarden, was kidnaped separately by Hamas and was informed of “the deaths” of his children while being recorded by Hamas for a propaganda video. A recent release of two videos published by Hamas, of three of the hostages, has expanded the psychological warfare Hamas is using on the Israeli population. The first video showed three hostages and the message attached was, what will be their fate? The next day the second video showed two of the three have been killed.’
Release the hostages
A Mother’s Cry continues to call for the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas highlighting the lack of international pressure has been applied for this to happen saying their ‘liberation is one of the two key targets of Israel’s military operations in Gaza’.
‘There have now been several public interviews by some of the released hostages. All of them speak of extreme, varying conditions while being held captive. One woman said that a young woman was tortured next to her. Several have spoken of hearing directly from women in captivity about being sexually assaulted. Most of the captives have returned malnourished. One child was made to watch raw footage of some of the atrocities of 7 October, 2023. Some people were held in tiny underground spaces for over 50 days, deep in underground Hamas tunnels, being barely able to move and with very little light. Some were kept in apartments with Palestinian families. Children were told they were not allowed to cry and needed to be quiet at all times, some were drugged with Ketamine. People were beaten and threatened. Israeli press two days ago, reporting that families need to be prepared for the possibility of female hostages returning pregnant, after being raped in captivity,’ explained A Mother’s Cry spokesperson.
‘Many of the peace-building organisations in Israel have repeatedly called for a hostage release deal to be front and centre as a means to abate the ongoing war.’
You calling for the years long blockade of Gaza to end as well?
About bloody time that people realised a cease fire is not just up to Israel. Hamas needs to hand over what’s left of the hostages and then surrender. Then there’ll be a cease fire.
Where have you been, that’s exactly what are foreign minister called for months ago and was attacked for it.
Exactly. Thanks!
Well I guess it’s up to Netanyahu
Meanwhile, Israel being totally responsible for the pent-up hostilities accrued since 1948 and has resulted in this desperate response, has delighted in the indiscriminate slaughter of over 25,000 Palestinians for the last 100 days. In this context 133 hostages are inconsequential.
Israel reaps what it sows ! and still has much to answer for.
Cheers, G”)
It goes back well before the 1948 reestablishment of Jewish control over their homeland ( and Israel only controlled Gaza since 1967 – for the prior 19 years Gaza was under Egyptian control) During the seventh century, about 1,500 years after the establishment of the Jewish Kingdom of Israel, Arab Muslim armies began to swiftly conquer territory from their Capital in Mecca after subduing rebellions in the Arabian peninsula. Within roughly two decades, they created a massive Arab Muslim empire spanning three continents, which included them occupying Israel. They replaced all the conquered countries languages with Arabic, and non-Muslims were given a specific tax and treated with a secondary status to Muslims. All surrounding countries of Israel had pre Islamic cultures, but they were all subjugated to convert to Islamic culture, and over a million non Muslims, mainly Jews and Christians, but including minor Muslim sects, became refugees. The dissolvent of the British control of Israel (and the region) was to be 505 of Israel for the Jews and 50% for the Muslims, but the Muslims wanted all of it and war commenced days after the British left. It takes two to tango. The rally above reflects a strong sector of Israelis who want the war to stop. The lack of empathy for both sides, and the lack of understanding of the causes of the deep rifts that need to be addressed, exhibeted by a number of the posts above, is part of the problem, not the solution.
Are you justifying the barbaric slaughter of 25,000 plus innocent civilians on the basis of something that happened 1,700 years ago? Seriously? And you don’t seem to have any understanding of how it must feel to be kicked out of a home that your family has inhabited for centuries, with no ‘right of return,’ by colonial invaders? The ‘Muslims’ didn’t want all of it. They had been living in Palestine peacefully for centuries, alongside Jews and Christians. Have you seen the way the Zionists treat the original Jewish inhabitants of Palestine? Appalling.
No I am not justifying the barbaric slaughter of 25,000 on any basis, I stand with you, and with not only with what appears to be the majority of Israelis, but also one of the members of the Israeli War Cabinet, who wants the war and the slaughter to stop. So where is your suggestions on stopping it? Hamas’s Charter is for Hamas to takeover Israel, and you have seen how they intend to do so . The Majority of Gazans voted for this Hamas war, but they sought the killing fields to be in Israel and the slaughter being Jews. Israel moved 6000 Jews out of Gaza, gave money and equipment so that the Palestinians could set up Gaza under a Palestinian authority (and the same for the West Bank). There is extremely few Pallestinians alive who originally left Israel 75 years ago ( and virtually no refugees from the 2nd world war, in a similar time period, that haven’t resettled). Those that went to Jordan were given Jordanian citizenship. The Muslims did (and Hamas still does – read their Charter) want all of it – the decolonisation of Britians occupation, that set all of the surrounding borders, was by a League of Nations committee of non regional countries, and then voted on by all members. Days after the establishment of Israel, which was to be 50% for Muslims and 50% for Jews , all of the surrounding Muslim countries attacked to try and wipe Israel off the map ( and there has been two further major wars since, from surounding countries, to try and and wipe out the Jews of this Jewish homeland, to embed Islam over this land, to join the loss of all the other pre islamic cultures of all the other regional countries that have been now Islamicised). ” They had been living in Palestine peacefully for centuries, alongside Jews and Christians.” – so what is your suggestion to get back to that? – It is not Hamas, with their Charter to take over Israel and impose themselves as the govt, and their Charter for Hamas to take all land that was not in private hands in 1948 (but Kibutzes as well as Jewish owned land was in existence pre 1948, and weve seen how Hamas treats Kibutzes). Hamas is an offshoot of the violent militant Muslim Brotherhood, and as a proxy of the violent militant Iran.
“And you don’t seem to have any understanding of how it must feel to be kicked out of a home that your family has inhabited for centuries, with no ‘right of return,’ by colonial invaders?” – I have been working on that same Australian issue here in Australia, for much of my life, including 25 years in Byron working with the local mob and reconciliation groups. I dont deny the deep rifts in Israel, but Israel was set up better than Australia, with dual official languages of Hebrew and Arabic (all Israeli children are taught some Arabic, or you can send you child to State financed school using 100% Arabic. 20% of Israeli doctors and medical staff are Palestinian, mainly trained in Israeli universities. Israeli Pallestinians have a higher standard of living than arabs in surrounding countries. The principle of Gaza and the West Bank being Palestinian controlled areas is in place. Islamic sites in Israel are protected and visited by Muslims from around the world ( the Al-Aqsa Mosque was built on the site of a demolished Jewish Temple – always causes problems). The philosophy of violent Islamic Jihad to bring the world under Islam is one of the main problems in the way of peace – any suggestions to deal with that?
Read the Talmud. Read Israeli military doctrine. Read Haaretz. There are no good guys vs bad guys here. We need to institute a ‘no bacon, no entry’ policy at minimum. Israel is making deals to have the Hamas fighters bought here as refugees once the IDF finish making Gaza unlivable. Do you want the bombing to continue John? Need some new neighbours on your street?
Gaza was part of the Kingdom of Judah, not the Kingdom of Israel (which was further north). Both of these kingdoms were formed on the Lands of Canaan, once the Canaanites had been ethnically cleansed from the land, as per Yahweh’s instructions. Though, there is a lot of evidence that Judea did not extend west to the town of Gaza. The split between Israelites and Jews still exists today, no matter what they tell you.
The land of Canaan encompasses Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, and the southern portions of Syria and Lebanon. It was partly occupied by the Philistines – the Philistines were of European origin, and their DNA shows compositions from Crete, Sardinia, Greece, and many island areas around the Mediterranean Sea. They arrived and lived from 1650 to 1200 B.C. in Gaza. The armies of Egypt and Asia finally destroyed the Philistines as a separate nation and people They were neither Arabs or Semites but took on the Semitic religion and the ancient Hebrew Semitic language – of all of the actual Semitic groups, it is only the Jews of Israel that continue the regions Semitic culture
Israel, at one point, had two associated kingdoms under the Jewish Kings Judah and Solomon, but effectively remained one Jewish country with multiple other non Jewish residents. the Jewish King David effectively reunified the kingdoms. It was violent times, but Jewish Israeli armies also fought alongside Arab armies against common foes (2000 years before Islam was created). Gaza was a recognised region – there is still 1000 year old remains of Jewish villages in Gaza – The story of Samson & Delilah was in Gaza, where Samson, a Jew, destroyed a Philistine temple by’ pushing over two pillars’ – (an allegory of Samson bringing down the then Gazan Philistine political status quo). What split between Israelites and Jews still exists?
Thanks for the wikipedia entry, but it doesn’t address the basic story from the Torah that is the basis of the Israeli claim on the land. God is not a real estate agent.
He should have provided a YouTube reference?
Maybe if Netanyahu would prosecute settlers in the West Bank who attack Palestinians, and also stop corralling, starving, and massacring people including children in Gaza, they would have a good bargaining chip. But that would require the Knesset to demonstrate respect for human lives that are not Israeli, instead of claiming to be the only victims of centuries of competition of land and water.
It’d be nice if Israel would release the hundreds of hostages they’d been taking for decades before. Or the children being arrested for “traffic violations” or accused of “terrorist attacks” for throwing pebbles at tanks, tried in military courts that allow violently coerced confessions, sentenced to years of imprisonment and labour. It’s one thing to decry Hamas’ actions, it’s another to act as though they occurred in a vaccuum.
It’d also be nice if the IDF acted as if freeing the hostages was their goal instead of just saying so and pushing out their tiktoks and YouTube shorts. The Israeli civilians they shot to death, even as they waved their white flags and cried for help, probably would have liked that too.
If these people had an ounce of compassion for the 10,000 + children who Israel have murdered, they might have a cause.
I think they are reacting to the 1400 number. They aren’t told it has been revised down. They aren’t told about the quick response helicopter gunships not being able to tell who was who, but firing anyway. They aren’t told about the tanks blowing up kibbutzim without knowing the mix of people in them. They don’t know what was happening in Gaza on an average day. They are the way that people who believe the media are. It’s ‘the word of God from a box’ for them. And so when they do as it says, and kill, they are omniscient and righteous. Damn the unvaccinated plague rats – they will all die of the plague anyway.
The North American Empire is collapsing and as a result so too will the State of Israel. Won’t happen overnight but it will happen.
Ken, antisemitism is not clever, not wanted, not tolerated.
Antisemitism is a weaponised term. Criticising the fascist, imperialist, racist Israeli Government is not antisemitism.
Not all anti Zionists are antisemites but all antisemites are anti Zionists.
Zionism took hold because people wanted to get the Jews out of Europe. The anti-Jews, were the biggest pro-Zionists.
Wanting to crush the Mafia does not make you anti-spaghettic towards Italian People. It also doesn’t make you a self-hating-Italian.
Ken and Christine, The dictionary definition of antisemitism is” Hostility to or prejudice against Jewish people”. Your lefty pretendy definition from the lefty handbook is disgustingly wrong, your definition is the epitome of hate and just plain stupidity. Antisemitism is not clever, not wanted and not tolerated anywhere outside the Echo. Karma has a special way of dealing with your types.
1400+ times, from 109 civilisations spread across 6000 years from Africa to China. I know why, but what’s your theory as to why such disparate cultures came to the same conclusion? No other group even comes close.
Jeez Christian, please, what the hell are you on about?.
Christian. Sometimes I think you are a genius. Other times I think your a nutter.
They are not mutual exclusive states. People call Elon nuts all the time.