Moment 10-year-old boy is kidnapped by Hamas terrorists and taken to Gaza as bystander begs them not to ‘harm’ him
Video has emerged of a 10-year-old boy being kidnapped from his homeland by Hamas terrorists as they launched their attack on Israel over the weekend.
The disturbing footage shows the young man being dragged to an opening in the border fence between Gaza and Israel by the gunmen, who kidnapped around 150 people in their surprise offensive launched on Saturday morning.
Erez Kalderon, who was taken by Hamas from his home in Nir Oz in southern Israel, looks terrified as he is led through the streets by the heavily armed men.
His father Offer and sister Sahar (16) were also abducted in Hamas’ unprecedented ground, air and sea attack that rocked Israel.
The chaotic footage, posted on social media, shows the young boy being held by the arms by a much larger man who is accompanied by another holding a gun.
Video has emerged of a 10-year-old boy who was abducted from his home at gunpoint by Hamas terrorists as they launched their attack on Israel over the weekend
One of the gun-wielding man’s hands appears to be full of blood.
Other fighters are seen moving up and down the road, including one driving past the group and dragging Erez on the back of a motorcycle.
A barbed wire fence, believed to be the Gaza-Israeli border fence, can be seen in the background, as well as smoke rising into the sky in the distance.
A man, who is not identified in the video clip, is heard pleading with the gunmen who drag him down the road, saying: ‘Don’t hurt them, this one is young, leave them alone, this one is a young boy maybe only 10 years old’.
It was not clear from the footage whether it was one of the captors who told them to leave the young Israeli alone, another Israeli who had been abducted pleading with his captors in Arabic, or another bystander altogether.
The footage is cut before the youngster is seen being taken into Gaza.
Erez’s family has since spoken about his abduction, saying that he, his father and sister went into hiding on Saturday morning and have not been heard from since.
“Yesterday at 8:30 a.m. messages were sent from them that the terrorists are outside their house… and they are hiding,” said a message from a family member, which was circulated online. “Since then, their voices have not been heard.”
Erez’s sister Gaya Kalderon, 21, who lives in Tel Aviv, told Sky News: ‘Everything I have in my life – my family – is missing. I am terrified of the pictures and can’t believe my eyes. It feels like a horror movie that would never come true. But it did.’
Erez Kalderon, abducted by Hamas from his home in Nir Oz in southern Israel, looks horrified as he is led through the streets by the heavily armed men
The war began after Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel on Saturday, bringing gunfire to its streets for the first time in decades.
At least 1,600 lives have already been claimed on both sides, and perhaps hundreds more, with Israel saying on Tuesday its death toll had risen past 1,000, although separate reports suggested the total toll could be much higher.
In Gaza and the West Bank, 704 people died, according to the authorities there; Israel says hundreds of Hamas fighters are among them. Thousands were wounded on both sides.
The bodies of some 1,500 Hamas fighters were found on Israeli territory, the army said. It was not immediately clear whether these numbers overlapped with deaths previously reported by Palestinian authorities.
Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza are currently holding more than 150 soldiers and civilians hostage, according to Israel, with Hamas threatening to execute hostages if the Israeli Defense Forces strike targets in Gaza without warning.
The conflict is only expected to escalate. Israel expanded the mobilization of reservists to 360,000 on Tuesday, according to the country’s media.
After days of fighting, Israel’s military said Tuesday morning that it had regained effective control of areas attacked by Hamas in its south and some of the Gaza border.
A looming question is whether Israel will launch a ground offensive in Gaza – a 25-mile strip of land wedged between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea that is home to 2.3 million people and has been ruled by Hamas since 2007 become
The Israeli military said it struck hundreds of targets overnight in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood, an upscale district that is home to ministries of the Hamas-run government, as well as universities, media organizations and aid organizations.
After hours of relentless attacks, residents left their homes at dawn to find buildings torn in half by airstrikes or reduced to piles of concrete and rebar.
Cars were flattened and trees burnt down in residential streets that were transformed into moonscapes.
The devastation signaled what appeared to be a new Israeli tactic: warning civilians to leave certain areas and then hitting those areas with unprecedented intensity.
Palestinians rush through a cap after taking down the fence on the Israel-Gaza border and enter Israel following clashes and attacks in Gaza City, Gaza on October 7
Smoke is seen on October 7 near the border fence between Gaza and Israel
The bombings and Israel’s threats to overthrow Hamas have heightened questions about the group’s strategy and goals.
But it is unclear what options he has given the ferocity of Israel’s retaliation and the potential to lose much of his government infrastructure.
Hours after Saturday’s invasion began, senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri said the group had planned for all eventualities, including “all-out war,” and was ready to suffer “severe blows.”
Meanwhile, in an ominous warning to its residents, Hamas’s armed wing, Abu Ubaida, told residents of Israel’s port of Ashkelon to leave the area by 5 p.m. Tuesday, without giving any further details.