This Is What 34-Days of Hamas Captivity Does to a 12-Year-Old Israeli Hostage

Yagel Yaacov, 12, was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

A picture of the Israeli youth was taken just days before he was taken to Gaza by terrorists. Another picture of him was released 34 days later.

This from thelibertydaily.com.

The differences are striking.

The saddest parts of this story we are not being told—of family members, friends, and acquaintances of this 12-year-old boy who were viciously killed, of the terrible things this boy has observed, and of the terrible physical and mental trauma that has been done to him.

Tense and difficult negotiations continue at the United Nations Security Council in an effort to break the deadlock crippling the world’s most powerful decision-making authority—as death and despair are what the residents and captives in Gaza are experiencing.

Al Jazeera has learned that Malta’s ambassador to the UN, Vanessa Frazier, has circulated a new resolution among the Council members for consideration and a potential vote, hoping to finally pass a resolution on the war on Gaza, after serial failed efforts over the past month.

There is renewed hope that the UNSC will finally respond to the war on Gaza, not only because there have been new attempts to find compromise language that will appeal to all its members, including the United States, but also because there has been a shift in the stance of the U.S. itself. The Obiden Regime called for a humanitarian pause to Israel’s war for the first time on November 2.

Volker Turk on Wednesday visited the Rafah crossing on the Egypt-Gaza border, where several hundred foreign passport holders have been able to flee this week to escape fierce fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas.

The UN’s human rights chief said in a strongly worded statement on the Gaza conflict:

Both Israel and Hamas [are] committing war crimes.

Mr. Turk likened the situation there to witnessing “the gates to a living nightmare.”

He told reporters:

The atrocities perpetrated by Palestinian armed groups on 7 October were heinous, brutal and shocking, they were war crimes—as is the continued holding of hostages.

Further:

The collective punishment by Israel of Palestinian civilians amounts also to a war crime, as does the unlawful forcible evacuation of civilians.

The massive bombardments by Israel have killed, maimed and injured in particular women and children.

The latest death toll from the Gaza Ministry of Health is in excess of 10,500 people, including over 4,300 children and 2,800 women. All of this has an unbearable toll on civilians.

We have fallen off a precipice. This cannot continue.

Israel’s retaliatory strikes on Hamas after the 7 October attacks have involved the continued aerial bombardment of Gaza. The country has also intensified ground operations in the past 10 days and is attempting to dismantle a vast underground tunnel network.

The bombardments have forced thousands to walk long distances to seek refuge.

CNN reported:

[A] stream of people, including women, children, the elderly and disabled, made their way down Salah Eddin Street. This is one of the two north-south highways in Gaza along an evacuation corridor.

Still wrongfully referring to Gaza as an occupied territory, Mr. Turk said:

Even in the context of a 56-year-old occupation, the current situation is the most dangerous in decades, faced by people in Gaza, in Israel, in the West Bank but also regionally.

My colleagues are among those trapped, and among those who have lost family members, suffering sleepless nights filled with agony, anguish and despair.

Also, blaming Israel for the war, the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCHR) wrote on X:

Given the high number of civilian casualties [and] the scale of destruction following Israeli air strikes on Jabalia refugee camp, we have serious concerns that these are disproportionate attacks could amount to war crimes.

Israel has rejected the UN’s calls for a humanitarian ceasefire. In October, the U.S. had vetoed a UN Security Council resolution for “humanitarian pauses” to deliver lifesaving aid to millions in Gaza.

Again, from Ari Hoffman, who may have been speaking for all of Israel:

I don’t want to hear another damn word from the UN, the media, or anyone else accusing Israel of “war crimes” until this kid is home.