Eli Albag, the father of hostage Liri Albag, explained how his life has been shattered since his daughter was kidnapped, and that for pushing the government to secure a hostage deal, he and other hostage family members have suffered a torrent of abuse.
Albag made the comments in a Friday interview with Israeli public broadcaster KAN. The interview comes after the Hamas terrorist organization released a video of Liri.
"After 460 days, you see signs of life of your daughter, you begin to ask: What's going on with her? Every hostage family would want to receive a sign of life from their relative in captivity.
"On the other hand, you're in a tornado of emotions that all of a sudden, you see your child and you say, 'That's not our Liri, that's a different Liri.' You see a worried, broken, scared girl, who just wants to get out of there."
Albag continued, saying, "Since that dark Saturday, we haven't been able to get up from our beds. We're a broken family. Even when we do get up, you see a living dead man in front of you."
Albag noted his difficulties sleeping while his daughter is in captivity.
"It doesn't matter how I sleep, but a 19-year-old girl, how can she sleep?"
'If someone wants the hostages back, they're an enemy of the people'
Albag also said that he and other hostage family members have received abuse for pushing for a hostage deal.
"If someone dares want the hostages back, they're an enemy of the people. It got to a situation where people hit me, threw things at me, sent me hate letters. Not just to me, but all the hostage families, because they're going out to the streets."
The hostage's father then held up a poster of his daughter missing.
"Is there something written here against the government? Against Bibi? In the first week, I got attacked because of this," he said. "After 460 days, you wouldn't be furious? Would you prefer that I be happy? It doesn't matter who the prime minister is. It's his job to do everything possible."
When asked what he misses most about his daughter, Eli said it's "her smile. To eat and dance with her. I want her back, as well as the rest of the hostages."