I can’t imagine the horror of being kidnapped by Hamas, especially if you’re a child — what the despair of the family members who desperately wanted them back must be like.
First, the horror of Oct. 7, then being taken to Gaza by terrorists, not knowing what might come next, held captive by people who hate your very existence. According to some of the first medical reports:
“They arrived in a state of malnutrition with poor indicators,” according to officials at Wolfson Hospital.
“Their diet in captivity was mainly based on rice, hummus with flour and pita bread, one of them lost 20 kg,” said the director of the department. “There were days when they didn’t get any food at all.”
Imagine, then, the gross hypocrisy of some of the leftist protesters outside the White House saying they are going on a “hunger strike” for a “permanent ceasefire.” They don’t want to know what Hamas did because it would implode their flawed take on this whole situation. Then you also have folks on the left spinning the treatment as though Hamas were just kind fellows, and this was a pleasure jaunt. The medical reports kind of blow that up. This is a group, as I reported on Monday, that would hold a ten-month-old baby and his four-year-old brother and turn them over to another terrorist group.
Then, imagine what happened to the Brodutch family. Avichai Brodutch wasn’t home when his wife Hagar called to say that someone was breaking into the house. When he got home, his wife and three children — Ofri, 10, Yuval, 9, and Oriya, 4 — were gone, kidnapped into Gaza by the Hamas terrorists. Ofri had just turned ten, and she was supposed to have a birthday party on Oct. 7. Her father had the cake for the party in the refrigerator, and he kept it there as he waited for news of his family.
On Sunday, after 51 days, the Brodutch family was finally released by Hamas, and there was a joyous reunion at the hospital.
Joyous photos as Avichai Brodutch is reunited with his wife Hagar and kids Ofri, Yuval and Oriya after they were freed last night following 51 days in Hamas captivity. pic.twitter.com/iNB7zJyV0d
— Amy Spiro (@AmySpiro) November 27, 2023
But it wasn’t only their loving dad welcoming the Brodutch kids home. There was another family member the kids had missed as they rushed to meet him — Rodney, their dog.
The Brodutch children – Ofri, Yuval, and Oriya – are reunited with their dog, Rodney.
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) November 28, 2023
The three children and their mother were abducted by terrorists and held hostage for 50 days. pic.twitter.com/MhnxUWjJUa
They’ve been through so much, but the broad smiles on their faces at being with him again are just wonderful. They went through a horrible, unimaginable thing, and they will have a lot to heal from. But the love of a dog is a special thing, and you can see it at work, already helping the children, as they love on him, and Oriya plays with his ears.
