Eli Albag, the father of an 18-year-old Israeli hostage in Gaza, has expressed fears that his daughter, Liri, may have been sexually assaulted by her captors. He believes that other released hostages who were with Liri might know something about this but are avoiding telling him to spare him further pain. Eli Albag, along with three other relatives of hostages, have traveled to London to urge the UK Government to pressure Qatar, which is involved in negotiations for the hostages’ release and also hosts several senior Hamas leaders. They want Qatar to decide whether it wants to continue hosting Hamas or align with Western civilization.
Eli Albag described his youngest daughter as a happy girl who loved music and dance and had friends worldwide. He is deeply distressed by the thought of what could be happening to her. He knows from released hostages that Liri was alive and physically unharmed after 50 days of captivity, although they were living in harsh conditions.
The father also expressed concerns about the possibility of unwanted pregnancies due to sexual assault, as termination could soon become impossible. He handed UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak a dog tag with the words “Bring them home” at a Conservative Friends of Israel meeting.
A Qatari official responded by offering sympathies to the families and stated that they are working tirelessly to secure the hostages’ release and end the war. The official added that Qatar has used its communication channel with Hamas, established over a decade ago in coordination with the United States, to release 109 hostages from Gaza so far.
