Family of Abducted 17-Year-Old Hopes for His Safe Return
Ophir Angel, a 17-year-old, was kidnapped into Gaza. His family asks, "Believe he will come back."
The family of 17-year-old Ophir Angel, currently held captive by Hamas militants in Gaza, is tirelessly working for his release. They firmly believe that it will happen soon and ask the people of Israel to "believe he will return."
"We are doing everything we can to bring our son home," says his father, Yoav.
As a reminder, Ophir was kidnapped on October 7 along with dozens of others from Kibbutz Be'eri. "That Shabbat, he called at 6:30 in the morning to say there were rockets, they were going into the shelter, he was okay, and not to worry," Yoav recounts in an interview with 'MyNet Jerusalem'. "We turned on the TV at home in Ramat Rachel, saw what was unfolding, and began communicating with him via text messages through Yuval's phone because Ophir's cellphone had no reception. At 12:30, we received a message saying they heard Arabic around them and the situation was deteriorating."
This week, his aunt Yael gave an interview to CNN, where she moved anchor Jake Tapper to tears upon seeing Ophir's picture. "He reminds me of my son," said Tapper, passing the broadcast to the studio.
"If someone had asked me about this nightmare, this surreal reality, I wouldn't have believed we'd manage to function as we do," says Yoav. "There are many broken moments, and then we gather our strength to rise again. Life has changed, and we also know that after Ophir returns, with Hashem's help, the adjustment won't be easy. But day in and day out, hour after hour, we are doing everything we can to bring our son back. We hope and pray that very soon Ophir will return home and also return with us to the arena. We believe it's going to happen and just need everyone to believe with us."
