‘My nightmare as I pray my mother and brother will be freed’

A British-Israeli woman who had a brother murdered by Hamas and another kidnapped, along with their 79-year-old mother, has told of the “nightmare” she has suffered since discovering their fate.

Ayelet Svatitzky said she had “stopped eating” and was struggling to sleep after learning the terrible news, which had left her “sobbing and screaming” in anguish.

She revealed, however, that she was determined to overcome her sorrow so she could focus on the hope that her mother Channah and brother Nav, 51, could be freed from captivity. Her words, contained in diary extracts published by the Telegraph newspaper, are the latest illustration of the trauma suffered by many families in Israel and elsewhere since the murderous attack by Hamas, a banned terrorist group in the UK, the US and other countries, which led to around 1,400 deaths in Israel.

Ms Svatitzky’s oldest brother Roi was found murdered behind his family house in the Nirim kibbutz in southern Israel, while her brother and mother were later confirmed to have been kidnapped. In her diary, Ms Svatitzky describes how she felt “numb” when told about Roi’s death. “I’ve stopped eating and I barely get any sleep,” she said. “This is a nightmare and I can’t wake up.” She said she broke down a few days after the incident.

“Our house is just beneath Mount Carmel, and I ask my husband to walk with me to the mountain.

“We find a rock to sit on under the trees and I start crying, sobbing and then screaming ‘This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening.’”