Gaza release deal has to happen now, hostage's mother says

"She can survive this," Ayelet Levy Shachar says of her daughter, who's been held in Gaza for nine months.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessWomen at the HelmFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersGaza release deal has to happen now, hostage's mother saysFamily handoutAyelet Levy Shachar's daughter, Naama, has been held hostage in Gaza for nine monthsAyelet Levy Shachar turned down an invitation to get on Benjamin Netanyahu’s plane to Washington. Her daughter, Naama Levy, was kidnapped by Hamas gunmen from an Israeli army observation post near the Gaza border on 7 October.

It was not a political decision, she told me, saying she’d been “honoured” to be asked by the Israeli prime minister, but the timing was wrong.

Ayelet’s face lights up when she talks about Naama, who turned 20 years old in captivity, describing her as a determined and fun-loving young woman, a good student and athlete.

She’s hopeful her nine-month nightmare might be coming to an end.

“We have heard from defence and security forces that they're reaching the point of breaking a deal,” she says. “And we have never before been in such a promising point at that sense.”

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg3e05n1xy3o

---