When the barrage of rockets began on the morning of October 7, Ella Mole called her family in Kfar Azha to check on their safety. When she finally made contact with her sister’s family, she recalled that she was with her nephew and her niece Michael and Amalia, who were hiding in a cupboard. They tell her that Roy and Smadar Idan were killed and that they don’t know what happened to three-year-old Abigail.
“I had no connection to the military. I just posted it on Facebook,” Mol said. jerusalem post.
She described running a “war room” for hours at home, trying to find someone who could rescue them from the closet. They were eventually rescued from the kibbutz by rescue teams.
“A few days later, we found out that Abigail was not killed as we thought, but was taken to Gaza as a hostage,” Mol said.
Since then, Mol has been engaged in speaking and advocacy work. She first spoke in Israel, and then she spoke to foreign media. She has also met with anti-Israel writers and explained their situation.
“People don’t understand the situation in Israel,” she says. “As Abigail’s aunt, I have been given a new task of being a voice.”
Avigail Idan, 3 years old (Credit: Provided by family)
“I got a new job as Abigail’s aunt.”
This type of work places a heavy burden on activists, who often quit their jobs to focus on their activities. In this case, there will be no assistance from the government. Mol initially stopped working at a homeopathic clinic, but returned in a limited capacity because during the war he had to help patients who had sleeping problems and were suffering from stress, trauma and depression.
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Although she is not yet fully back, she has expanded her reach to help people through Instagram through videos explaining what to do in siren, stress and panic situations. She also teaches people, businesses and organizations how to psychologically cope with wartime environments.
“I always advise people not to watch Hamas snuff videos, not to watch hostage videos, not to go into a traumatic state,” Mol said. “People think they’re helping themselves by watching, but in reality they’re only hurting themselves.”
She also teaches children in bomb shelters how to stand and stretch so they don’t get nervous and panic.
“We do not yet know the most effective way to simultaneously manage the care of so many hostages and their families,” Mol said. “We are studying together.”
Abigail remained in captivity until the age of four, but was released on November 26 by agreement. For the hostages and their families, their ordeal did not end with their return to Israel.
“Three of these children had their parents killed, two had to hide in a cupboard, and one was held captive by Hamas,” Mol said.
They returned to school or kindergarten. Mol says it’s important for them to have a routine. Other families are still waiting for their loved ones to be rescued or released.
“I’m glad people are back to normal life, but we can’t forget the hostages and their families,” she said. “Time has stopped for them.”
Until his release, Mol says he feels the need to continue speaking out through videos and explaining the situation through lectures.
“It could have been any of us,” Mo said. “It was just a coincidence.”
