UK son of Hamas kidnap victim missing in Israel breaks silence on horror ordeal

10 October 2023 , 15:33

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Noam Sagi spoke of his turmoil after his 74-year-old mum Ada Sagi was snatched from her home by members of the terrorist group on Saturday afternoon (Image: Sky News)

A UK son whose elderly mum is believed to be among those kidnapped in Israel told of Hamas militants' wicked swoop on the vulnerable, cancer and dementia patients among them.

Noam Sagi spoke of his turmoil after his 74-year-old mum Ada Sagi was snatched from her home by members of the terrorist group on Saturday afternoon. Militants drilled their way into her home where she was hiding in her safe room from shelling and rockets. Israeli military found only blood stains when they arrived. "They came in, they drill through the locks and the windows and they came in with the aim of abducting or killing," he said in an interview with Sky News.

Mr Sagi, who grew up in a kibbutz near the Gaza border and now lives in London, said he cannot be certain of his mother's wellbeing but believes she is among those kidnapped "based on common sense and footage". He further revealed the grandmother-of-six has a hip replacement and is therefore "not going to be hiding somewhere". He added: "I know my mum is not on the dead list, I know she's not on the rescued list and I know she's not on the injured list".

Militants drilled their way into Mr Sagi's mother's home, near the Gaza border, where she was hiding in her safe room from shelling and rockets. Israeli military found only blood stains when they arrived (Sky News)

Mr Sagi referred to footage he has seen of Hamas militants taking elderly civilians back to the Gaza Strip "on their own mobility scooters". Referring to the victims from his mother's community, he said Ada is one of the youngest. "We are talking about people in their 80s and people in their mid 80s," he added. "Cancer patients, demented people... it's like going into a care home and taking the most vulnerable."

Hamas, the ruling militant group in the Gaza Strip, carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel at daybreak Saturday, firing thousands of rockets and engaging in a gun battle on the street. The outbreak, which has claimed hundreds of lives, happened practically 50 years to the day of the 1973 War. Residents were shocked to see Hamas fighters using motorised paragliders to get over the border from Gaza into Israel. Remarkable footage released by the Al Qassam Brigades showed soldiers with guns soaring through the sky on the hang gliders before they boarded pick-up trucks and motorbikes to infiltrate an Israeli settlement.

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Describing his mother's abduction in an interview with Sky News, Mr Sagi said: "They came in, they drill through the locks and the windows and they came in with the aim of abducting or killing" (Sky News)

Hamas has since issued an ultimatum to the Israeli city of Ashkelon to leave their homes amid the ongoing violence. Citizens have been warned to evacuate by 5pm tonight - 3pm UK time in response to Israeli retaliatory attacks on the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile Israel has announced the official death toll of its own citizens has topped 1,000.

In a shocking incident among the ongoing horrors, Hamas gunmen have been filmed shooting dead an Israeli family's dog then setting their home alight. The attack took place in the farming community kibbutz of Be'eri, where Israeli security forces and rescue workers later found 108 bodies. The footage from there emerged after another shocking video showing the moment Hamas militants abducted a mum and her two young children.

Laura Sharman