Israeli Teen Hopes Her Cousins Will Be Released Soon by Hamas

You know, they released a video of him talking and we thought he was going to be released. And it just gives you a sense of false hope. But also, you see him and he’s — he’s still the same person. You can recognize him, but his eyes are — they look like he went through so many things so quickly. Just so much less life in them. You can tell the difference between the happy, joking, laughing boy he was, and who he is now. For a little bit there, it felt like every day he would come back and be released, and at least he would be here, even if all the others aren’t. And then we realized that wasn’t going to happen in the next few days. And that led to another just wave of agony. People I knew, I saw at every family gathering and at school, and they’re just gone. I mean, it’s not something that should ever happen to somebody, especially at that age. I can’t think of anything other than getting the hostages back.