On Oct. 7, Avihai Brodutch and his family woke up in their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza ready to celebrate—it was their eldest daughter Ofri's birthday.
"She just turned 10," Brodutch told CTV National News. "There are still presents waiting for her."
The family wasn't initially worried when the alarms began to sound, but then they heard what was happening—Hamas militants had launched a surprise attack on Israel and broken into their kibbutz.
Brodutch looked outside and saw one of his four-year-old daughter's friends covered in blood.
"I picked her up, and she was full of blood," he said. "But it wasn’t her blood."
Brodutch says the young girl's parents were killed in their house nearby. He gave the girl to his wife, Hagar, who took her into their safe room with their own kids: daughter Ofri, 8-year-old son Yuval and four-year-old Oria.
Brodutch went back outside, but later got a text from his wife.
"'Somebody’s coming in.' That’s the last message I got from her. The last time I heard from her," he said.
More than 200 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage after heavily armed Hamas militants broke through Israel's multibillion-dollar electric border fence and fanned across southern Israel, overrunning nearly two dozen communities, military bases and a desert rave. More than 1,400 people died in the daylong killing rampage that followed.
Brodutch believed his family was among the dead. He had begun to mourn, but then, he learned they were seen being driven out of the kibbutz toward Gaza on the day of the attack. When the Israeli military searched his home, no bodies were found.
"I felt like I got my life back," he said. "My family (was) alive and well. But now, it’s been 18 days and there's no more news. I don't know if they are still alive and well, or where exactly they are."
Brodutch, a farmer who grows pineapples nearby, lives near the border with Gaza.
"When I open my window, I see Gaza and I never felt afraid," he said "I always hoped that one day we would have peace."
Brodutch has been among the many protesting near the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence in Tel Aviv demanding the government prioritize hostages above all else.
"I want them to have a picture of my family when they make their decisions," he said. "I want them to look into their eyes and then make their decisions."
The Israeli government has faced criticism over its response to the hostage crisis, with some saying they were too slow to respond. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met with some of the hostages' families, but was criticized for waiting over a week to do so. There are also concerns his government is prioritizing airstrikes on Gaza over securing the safe release of hostages.
In the nearly three weeks since Israel began its airstrikes on Gaza, almost 7,000 civilians have been killed and thousands injured according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry. It is estimated half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population has been displaced.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military dropped leaflets in Gaza asking Palestinians to reveal information on the whereabouts of hostages in return for security and money.
With four hostages now released, Brodutch says he wakes up every morning hoping it will be his family's turn next.
"The only thing I want is my family back," he said. "The children shouldn't be part of this conflict. My wife shouldn't be. They have done nothing wrong."
With files from The Associated Press
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