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The release of four hostages by Hamas has ignited hope for Israeli families that some of their relatives who were taken captive are alive.
Each day, Israeli mother Hadas Kalderon relives the nightmare of her two young children, elderly mother, niece and ex-husband being abducted by Hamas militants on October 7.
Ms Kalderon’s children Erez, 11, Sahar, 16, mother Carmella Dan, 80, ex-husband Ofer Kalderon, 53, and niece Noya Dan, 12, were among more than 200 Israelis abducted.
Israeli authorities later announced that Carmella and Noya Dan had been found dead.
Hamas released two elderly Israeli women late on Monday for humanitarian reasons, days after freeing an American woman and her teenage daughter.
And Ms Kalderon, a French-Israeli citizen, still holds on to hope that the hostage releases are a sign that some of her family will survive their capture.
She maintains that peace is the only way forward.
“We are very happy about the hostages being released,” Ms Kalderon told The National from Tel Aviv. “It gives us hope. It means they are still alive.”
On Thursday, the family released a series of posts on Facebook to celebrate Erez's 12th birthday with a virtual cycling event, while marking the death of his grandmother Carmella and cousin Noya.
“I believe in peace, my mother always believed in peace,” Ms Kalderon said.
“The only way to get solutions is to keep negotiations open.
“It is terrifying what they [Hamas] did. But this is not just about my family and our tragedy.
“The hostages are alive and Hamas has an opportunity to show the world they are human, they still have a heart, by releasing all the hostages.”
The October 7 attacks struck Israeli communities and a music festival near the Gaza border, as well as several military sites.
Since the shock attack into southern Israel that killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, Israeli retaliatory bombardments have killed more than 7,000 in Gaza, mostly children and women, and displaced one million.
'Mum be quiet'
When Hamas breached the Gaza fence, Ms Kalderon was alone in her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz and heard the spray of bullets draw closer.
For hours as she hid in the safe room, Ms Kalderon messaged her children who were in her ex-husband’s house in the same kibbutz.
Carmella, her mother, also lived near by and was sheltering in her own home with granddaughter Noya.
The last message Ms Kalderon received was after her former partner and children escaped from the house as Hamas fighters entered his home.
She weeps as she reads a final message sent by her young son asking her to be careful.
“Our houses were being burnt and I got a message from my ex-husband – ‘We have a terrorist inside our house, we have jumped out of the window,’" she recalled.
“My son wrote to me, ‘Mum be quiet, don’t move.’ He was worried about me even when he was hiding in the bushes.”
More than eight hours later, when the Israeli army reached the kibbutz to take the residents to safety, she realised that most of her family were missing.
Her young son was spotted by a relative in the back of a vehicle in videos later released by Hamas.
“I know he is alive, I have hope but I can’t see the movie,” she said.
“I can’t imagine what he is feeling, what they are going through.”
Her home and hundreds of others in the kibbutz were torched by Hamas and she is now staying with friends.
Her appeal is for more countries to get involved in freeing the hostages.
“We can’t sleep and we can’t eat,” said Ms Kalderon, who took care of the elderly in the kibbutz.
“We just pray and ask to bring the kidnapped back home.
“I’m begging all the Arab countries to help. We are asking the whole world to scream with us so all the hostages come home."
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Arabian Gulf Cup FINAL
Al Nasr 2
(Negredo 1, Tozo 50)
Shabab Al Ahli 1
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
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Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
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Al Watan newspaper
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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- On sale: 2026
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The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
Brief scores:
Barcelona 3
Pique 38', Messi 51 (pen), Suarez 82'
Rayo Vallecano 1
De Tomas Gomez 24'
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