They exchanged text messages and emojis. Brief status updates with words of encouragement. A picture of the beloved family dog “Tutsi.”

Until no more messages came.

And then, Cindy Flash, an American, and her Israeli husband Igal vanished into the violence, presumed kidnapped by Hamas.

Four days after Hamas attacked Israel, more than 100 Israelis and potentially dozens of foreign nationals are thought to be held captive in the Gaza Strip. At least 14 U.S. citizens have been killed and an unknown number are still unaccounted for.

Flash, 67, originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, is one of them. She lives in Kfar Aza, a kibbutz in southern Israel near Gaza, where some of the most harrowing and grisly stories have been emerging during the last few days.

“They are breaking down the safe room door,” Flash said in one of her final messages to her daughter Keren, 34. “We need someone to come by the house right now.” She had been communicating with her parents from a few houses away.

Keren described her mother, who worked as an administrator in a local college, as someone who had the “sweetest biggest heart,” who everyone knew and loved, and who had spent a lifetime advocating for the rights of Palestinians, including those who live in Gaza where she may now be held.

  • erranto@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    10
    arrow-down
    31
    ·
    1 year ago

    Being a settler in an occupied territory =/= advocating for Palestinians rights.

    So much cognitive dissonance in this world making the bad guys now the good guys.

    • drphungky@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      21
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      The article didn’t say she was a settler in an occupied territory though, she was in a Kibbutz on the border of Gaza. The settler problem is in the West Bank. The article DID say she advocated for Palestinian rights, which I don’t understand why you’d deny unless you have some proof otherwise? Hamas killed civilians indiscriminately - they were bound to kill some very good people. I don’t understand why someone who advocated for Palestinian rights is so hard to believe. It’s just super sad.

      • erranto@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        8
        arrow-down
        27
        ·
        1 year ago

        Why should a US citizen be given the right to someones else’s land. it is a stolen land from the Palestinians. every Israeli citizens is a settler. the were given the freedom to live and buy land that used to belong to its rightful owners, while the last are being caged-in in an open air prison

        • Dr Cog@mander.xyz
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          13
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          Where do you live? Because I doubt you are the original settler of your land.

          If you’re an American (North or South), you are not responsible for the reprehensible actions of your ancestors towards the Native populations just because you now live there. Similarly with Russia, China, most of Africa, Australia, Europe… basically the entirety of the world has a history of war and settling on conquered land. And you don’t deserve death for the actions of your ancestors.

          • erranto@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            4
            arrow-down
            9
            ·
            1 year ago

            Typical westerner settler response.

            my ancestors have been living here for thousands of years . they went through many colonizers and we are still bitter about the ones that are left.

            death to colonialism everywhere in the world.

    • Astroturfed@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      arrow-down
      12
      ·
      1 year ago

      Hey, don’t question the biased media narrative or look up statistics on the number of people killed by each side and realize Israel is terrible as well. That would distract from massive military industrial complex socialism.