The brother-in-law of a Hamas hostage is speaking out about his relative's plight, imploring the international community to keep fighting for the hostages' safe return. Moshe Lavi said his brother-in-law, Omri Miran, 46, was taken captive from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7 by Hamas terrorists who invaded the country and slaughtered around 1,200 Israelis.
Omri is married to Lishay Miran and is father to daughters Roni, 2, and 9-month-old Alma. "He's an incredible father to my two nieces, Roni and Alma [and] amazing husband to my sister, Lishay," Lavi said, describing Miran as a man with a "gentle heart." "He's a family man." Months after the children's father was ripped from their lives, Lavi said the children not only scream and cry for their dad, but that the older child verbally recounts the "violence she witnessed on October 7th."
"How horrible it is that children at the age of 2 and 3 [are] hearing this?" he said. "She draws it in paintings. ... We take her to therapy, because we have to do that to ensure that she gets every support she [needs]." He continued, "[The kids] cry for him."
After losing touch with his sister and family in the middle of the night, Lavi, who lives in New York, later learned about the horrific situation his loved ones faced at the hands of Hamas. "My mom received a message that Lishay, my sister, survived, that the two babies survived, but that [Omri] was taken hostage," he said. "I'm grateful my parents were rescued and survived."
Hamas terrorists had barged into Omri's home, using a teenage boy from the kibbutz to lure them to open the door in a faux effort to save the 15-year-old boy's life. "Later on that day, Hamas murdered [the teen] and most of his family," Lavi said. "For hours, they were abused at their home, held at gunpoint, their house was ransacked, ravaged." That was just one of the many horrors to be inflicted on innocents that day, with some of the atrocities being live-streamed on Facebook.