A dog that was snatched from an Israeli family when they were kidnapped by Hamas is miraculously returning home after the animal was rescued by an Israel Defense Forces soldier in Gaza.
This from msn.com.
Rachel Dancyg was emotionally reunited with her beloved three-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Billy, on Wednesday—more than 18 months since the dog was abducted by the barbaric terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, while she hid in a saferoom.
Dancyg’s ex-husband, Alex Dancyg, and brother, Itzhak Elgarat, were both kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and later killed while in Hamas’ captivity.
The dog was found by an IDF soldier in Gaza.
Billy, however, survived her ordeal and jumped into the arms of Aviad Shapira, a reservist who has served more than 300 days in Gaza, while with his unit in Rafah last week.
He cared for the dog for four days and even received permission to take her back with him to Israel, where she spent the Passover Seder with Shapira’s family, according to Israeli outlet News 12.
A scan of the dog’s microchip at the vet then revealed she belonged to Dancyg, so Shapira called the Oct. 7 survivor and broke the miraculous news.
Dancyg’s son-in-law, Yaro Maor, told YNet the family was “in complete shock” that the dog was still alive and was “overwhelmed with emotion.”
They were so convinced that Billy was dead that they had already got the kids another dog of the same breed.
He told YNet:
Now the two dogs will live together with us. It’s a miracle from heaven.
Alex Dancyg, 76, was a Polish-Israeli activist who dedicated his life to teaching others about the Holocaust. The IDF confirmed in July that he had died several months prior while being held in Khan Younis is southern Gaza.
Billy, three and half-years-old, will be reunited with her family on Wednesday.
The King Charles Spaniel survived 588 days of enemy captivity.
Alex Dancyg’s body was recovered in August. Hamas had claimed earlier in 2024 that Dancyg had been killed as a result of an Israeli strike.
Itzhak Elgarat, 69, was shot and wounded while trying to get into his safe room and taken captive to Gaza. He was known by family members to have been alive as recently as April 2024, but later died, according to the Times of Israel. Elgarat’s body was handed over to Israeli officials in February.
Rachel Dancyg praised her brother’s bravery at his funeral in March.
She said:
You, Itzik, fought them with a fierce heart. They took you alive. I believed so much that you would return alive. You left too soon.
They tortured you, they starved you, you left in great agony that only bloodthirsty murderers can inflict.
God speed to the IDF.
