Since October 7, Maayan Zin has lived between hope and despair. That day, Hamas kidnapped her two daughters, Ela (8) and Dafna (15), from Israel to Gaza. The terrorists killed her father Noam in front of the children. Mother Maayan doesn’t know if her girls are still alive. And their hope of seeing each other again fades.
“I only ask the world one thing: take me to my girls. Take me to Gaza!” writes Maayan Zin in a desperate appeal in the Washington Post. She asks the governments of Israel, the US and the International Red Cross to support her project: “I can no longer follow the news, whether there is a hostage situation or not. They failed to free my girls. So take me to Gaza.”
“So I can change her bandages.”
Her bag is already packed, writes Maayan Zin. She just wanted to take a few things with her: “Milk chocolate that my daughters love so much, shoes that I can run in and a new bandage for Ela – she was injured in the last photo of her from captivity. Take me to Gaza so I can change her bandages,” the desperate mother wrote. She also wants to bring her daughters a photo of her murdered father Noam.
I am but dust and ashes, and if I must, I will suffer my fate with Dafna and Elah.
I have nothing left to ask from this world but this: take me to my girls. Take me to Gaza.https://t.co/3JOP5QgViI— Tal Schneider טל שניידר تال شنايدر (@talschneider) November 19, 2023
“When I am with them, regardless of their condition, I will hug them so long that they will forget where they are for a moment,” writes Maayan Zin about the hoped-for reunion. “I will stand in front of them and they will finally be able to sleep when I hold them. I will tell Dafna to sing a song with her beautiful voice, maybe she will open the heart of a kidnapper. I will encourage Ela to be the little mouse that she is and find a little place to hide so that she will be safe when the Israeli army comes to liberate us.”
“So I can be her mother too”
Maayan Zin wants to convey messages from their relatives to the other 31 children in the hands of Hamas. “Some of these children no longer have parents waiting for them at home. Take me to Gaza so I can be her mother too. I will tell them that they are not forgotten and that they are loved. That they are wanted and that the world was created for them.”
In her letter, Maayan Zin also addresses the strong international response to the Hamas massacre. “Politicians all over the world know my daughters’ names and are doing everything they can to get them released. Thousands of miles away, strangers hold devotions for them and put up posters with their names. The courage and help of others gives me the strength to believe that my girls will come back and that our reunion seems closer every hour,” writes Maayan Zin. At the same time, she sees that Hamas’ hate ideology is growing stronger every day around the world.
«The soldiers fighting their way to Dafna and Ela are confronted by people who would rather die than release my girls. Thousands of miles away, people are screaming for more violence, for the next intifada, for the next war that will drive us into the sea. My daughters’ photos are being torn down and their dignity is being trampled upon. With every hour that passes, the cry that tells me that they didn’t survive, that the world is too cruel to let them live in it, seems to get closer. I am but dust and ashes and if that is so, then I want to meet my fate with Daphna and Elah.”
Used sources:
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
