Dana Silberman-Sitton, the sister of Shiri Bibas, who has been held hostage in Gaza along with her husband and two children since October 7, gave an interview for a new series on KAN 11.
In the interview, she shared that she understood that her sister and nephews are unlikely to return alive from Gaza. Furthermore, Silberman-Sitton, who since October 7 refrained from speaking publicly, breaking silence on the matter only once before, emphasized that she has lost hope concerning her sister and her family.
“During the first deal, of course, we were waiting to hear their names, but every time more time passed, I felt it wasn’t going to happen. As the days went by and the lists came, and they weren’t among them, I admit that I lost hope," shared Silberman-Sitton.
Silberman-Sitton explained, "Maybe I also didn’t want to delude myself to avoid disappointment" when her loved ones were not part of a deal. She further added that she "prepared" herself "mentally not to expect anything" to avoid disappointments.
"I think that’s what has guided me to this day," stressed Silberman-Sitton, adding that as part of her preparations to avoid expecting the Bibas family's safe return from captivity, she "stayed out of the spotlight."
"I’m not giving interviews, I don’t show myself," she explained.
Hostage’s sister finds comfort in anonymity
"One thing that’s actually helping me during this time is that no one recognizes me. If I were walking around now, and everyone came up to me saying, ‘Oh, you’re the aunt of the cute redheads,’ it would only drag me down. This anonymity is helping me right now."
“I insisted on telling the kids what’s going on so they wouldn’t hear it from somewhere else. There are a lot of questions, especially from my daughter, about whether it’s true that they’ve really died. It’s something she asks every few days: ‘Mom, are Shiri and the kids really dead?’ And I have to tell her yes. That’s the survival instinct I was talking about.”
The new documentary series The Day That Never Ended, a five-part series that recounts the events of October 7 minute by minute, will air on KAN 11 starting this Saturday night and every evening after the daily newscast.