By: Nomi Kaltmann as seen in The Herald Sun

17 November 2024

I’ve never met 29-year-old Arbel Yahud, but I like to think that we’d be friends. From what her friends post about her online, she’s a fun aunty, she loves dogs and she is the life of any party. We share mutual friends, and I’ve been following her life story over the past year because Arbel was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023, from her home in the southern Israeli Kibbutz of Nir Oz. More than a year later, Arbel is still a hostage in Gaza.

This Friday, 22 November, will mark a full year since the beginning of the only weeklong pause in fighting between Hamas and Israel, when 105 Israeli hostages were released by Hamas in exchange for 315 Palestinians in Israeli jails, many of whom were jailed for terrorism offenses like attempted car bombings and stabbings.

During the 7 day pause in fighting, I waited with bated breath. I had already seen posts from Arbel’s friends, and every day I checked to see if she would be on the list of hostages that would be released that day. I knew that the hostages who were not released in this deal, would be condemned to stay in the hellholes of Gaza’s tunnels, with no medical care, no proper food and the constant threat of physical and sexual assault.

Unfortunately, after that hostage deal broke down, 101 Israeli hostages still remained imprisoned in Gaza including Arbel and 16 other Israeli women.

Since that initial hostage deal, there has been massive public pressure campaigns within Israel and in Jewish communities around the world. In the year since the last hostage exchange the hostages that have not yet been released have become familiar faces. Their pictures are plastered on billboards, street corners and in Synagogues.  Some hostages were taken at the Nova party, others were taken from their homes in their Kibbutzim in pyjamas.

When I see how desperate Arbel’s friends are for her to return home, I feel their longing and their pain.

Here in Melbourne, there has been a relentless campaign to create global awareness to pressure Hamas and the Israeli government to come to a deal and release the remaining hostages, with a special focus on the 17 female hostages.This has included protesting outside Melbourne’s Red Cross, asking why the International Red Cross has not yet visited a single Israeli hostage, as well as mass marches and campaigns in Melbourne’s CBD.  From other released Israeli hostages, it is known that some of the female hostages in Gaza have been sexually assaulted. 

While people can argue about the politics of the war between Israel and Hamas, most rational people would agree that taking random people hostage and keeping them in the tunnels of Gaza without proper medical care and food is a war crime. Until Arbel and all the 101 other hostages are home, we won’t stop advocating for their release.