Two British teenage sisters are thought to be being held captive by Hamas after last weekend’s attack on communities in southern Israel. The girls were named as Noiya, 16, and Yahel, 13, by a spokesperson for British families whose relatives are suspected hostages.
Their mother, Lianne, who was born in Bristol, was killed in last Saturday’s atrocities. The family lived in Be’eri, a kibbutz in southern Israel near the border with Gaza.
The details emerged as Rishi Sunak told parliament that at least six Britons were among those murdered by Hamas and a further 10 were missing. Some of the missing were likely to be dead, he said.
It was unclear whether the figure of 10 included the British-Israeli sisters. Sharone Lifschitz and Noam Sagi, relatives of those believed to be hostages in Gaza, were in the Commons public gallery as the prime minister spoke.
Sunak said the murder by Hamas of more than 1,400 people should be called a pogrom. His message for the Jewish community in the UK was: “We stand with you now and always.”
Earlier the prime minister’s spokesperson said officials from the Foreign Office were assisting families who are “facing unimaginable uncertainty and fear because of these despicable attacks”.
The relatives’ spokesperson said government officials had made contact for the first time on Monday. Sunak has not been in direct contact with the families.
Lifschitz said she felt heartened by Sunak’s statement in parliament. “My immediate concern is that a doctor sees the hostages, and that we are reassured that they’re under medical supervision,” she said.
Her father, Oded Lifshitz, 83, a journalist who worked for decades for peace and the recognition of Palestinian rights, was taken with his wife, Yocheved, 85, from their home in the Nir Oz kibbutz.
Sharone Lifschitz said: “We know that the situation for Palestinian civilians in Gaza is absolutely petrifying and horrific. We are not trying to say it’s not happening. We do also agree with the prime minister that the top of the pyramid is Hamas, a terrorist organisation that is terrorising its own population.
“I wouldn’t wish anything even on the children of those Hamas fighters. We need to bring more love, not hate into the region.”
Sagi, who grew up in Nir Oz near the border with Gaza and moved to London 22 years ago, praised the Labour MPs Dawn Butler and Stella Creasy for their help but said he had yet to hear from the government.
“Words are very encouraging, and if they are followed up, that will be good too … I need to see action,” he said.
The Israeli military confirmed on Monday that a total of 250 people were believed to be held hostage in Gaza. The figure has risen over the past few days. The Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said: “We are making valiant efforts to try to understand where the hostages are in Gaza, and we have such information.”
Israeli forces would “not carry out an attack that would endanger our people”, he added.
The hostages are believed to be mostly civilians, ranging from babies to people in their 80s. Many have dual nationality, with about 20 thought to hold US citizenship.
Hamas has claimed that 22 Israeli hostages have been killed in airstrikes since the war began 10 days ago, and has warned that it will kill hostages in response to unannounced Israeli strikes on civilian targets.
On Friday, it was reported that Israeli troops had retrieved an unspecified number of bodies of hostages during “localised raids”.
Be’eri, where the British-Israeli teenage girls lived, was the scene of unimaginable horror on Saturday 7 October, as Hamas gunmen overran the kibbutz, shooting and seizing people.
More than 100 members of the community were killed and many families spent hours in the safe rooms of their homes, pleading for help on WhatsApp.
