Sisters of German citizen still being held hostage recount ordeal to DW

DW’s Phil Gayle spoke to two sisters — Ofir and Naama Weinberg — whose cousin Itai Svirsky was taken hostage by the Hamas militant group on October 7.

The siblings are in Germany to meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz and highlight the plight of their cousin.

Ofir described how her family witnessed the events of October 7 via a WhatsApp family group and how Itai relayed what was happening with bombs and shooting in the street.

Nothing had been heard from Itai, but that changed after the recent release of some hostages.

“Just a few days ago we got a sign of life from Itai, for the first time after more than fifty days,” Naama said. “We got it from one of the hostages that were released and was held with him the whole time and it was that he’s alive.”

Naama described this as “a big release” for the family because, up until that point, they did not know whether or not he was still alive.

“He is suffering from deep anxiety. He witnessed his mother being murdered before he was taken away,” Naama explained.

The sisters said this would be their second meeting with Chancellor Scholz.

“Our expectation from Germany is to treat and handle this case as German citizens that were taken hostage, and to treat it in the same way they would have treated it if it had happened on Germany’s land,” Naama said.

Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States.

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