As an Israeli hostage turns 48, his wife waits for blue ticks on her messages

Eighteen months since Omri Miran was taken hostage by Hamas, his wife Lishay still sends family updates, which she hopes he will read one day.

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Photos of his daughters. Late night musings from his wife, Lishay, as she lies in bed. Snapshots from an Israeli family life that's gone on for 18 painful months without him.

Lishay started sending the messages three weeks after Hamas gunmen violently snatched Omri from their home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, on 7 October 2023.

She calls the chat Notes to Omri. She's lost count of the number of messages she's sent.

"My love, there are so many people you'll need to meet when you come back," she wrote at the end of October 2023.