AP PHOTOS: After 15 months of abandonment, hostage homes are empty memorials
AP PHOTOS: After 15 months of abandonment, hostage homes are empty memorials
The home of Aryeh Zalmanovich, 85, a hostage whose body is held by Hamas militants in Gaza, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in Kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of Aryeh Zalmanovich, 85, a hostage whose body is held by Hamas militants in Gaza, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in Kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of Aryeh Zalmanovich, 85, a hostage whose body is held by Hamas militants in Gaza, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in Kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of Matan Zangauker, hostage who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg).
The home of Matan Zangauker, hostage who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg).
The home of the Bibas family, hostages who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of the Bibas family, hostages who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of Itzhak Elgarat, a hostage who was pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of Itzhak Elgarat, a hostage who was pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of Ofer Kalderon, hostage who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of Ofer Kalderon, hostage who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of Ariel Cunio and Arbel Yehud, hostages who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of Ariel Cunio and Arbel Yehud, hostages who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of Oded Lifshitz, hostage who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of Oded Lifshitz, hostage who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of David Cunio, hostage who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of David Cunio, hostage who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Mailboxes in Kibbutz Nir Oz southern Israel, attacked by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023, are labeled with stickers indicating who died and who was taken hostage and who is released from captivity , Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/ Ohad Zwigenberg).
Mailboxes in Kibbutz Nir Oz southern Israel, attacked by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023, are labeled with stickers indicating who died and who was taken hostage and who is released from captivity , Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/ Ohad Zwigenberg).
KIBBUTZ NIR OZ, Israel (AP) — After 15 months of war, the homes of Israeli hostages are like time capsules of a war zone. There’s a small blue bicycle flung to the ground outside the house of the Bibas family — all of whom, including two young boys Kfir and Ariel, are still in captivity. Nearby, the walls of Oded Lifshitz’s home are singed, the ceilings have partially collapsed, scars of the initial Hamas attack Oct. 7, 2023, in which the elderly man and his wife, Yocheved, were abducted.
The home of the Bibas family, hostages who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of the Bibas family, hostages who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of Itzhak Elgarat, a hostage who was pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of Itzhak Elgarat, a hostage who was pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Portraits of the hostages have been affixed to the doors of their homes. Someone has laid a sunflower next to a photo of David Cunio, who remains in Gaza after his wife and twin girls were released in a hostage exchange a year ago..
Many are marked by graffiti left by Israeli forces during the days or sometimes weeks of fighting that followed the militants’ attack, to show houses cleared of fighters. Some are marked for eventual demolition because they are extensively damaged.
The home of David Cunio, hostage who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of David Cunio, hostage who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
One hundred hostages remain in Gaza, at least third of whom Israeli officials say are dead. There’s a glimmer of hope that negotiations on a Gaza ceasefire, restarted this week after months of failed efforts, might be able to bring them home. A new video released last weekend by Hamas showed Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, still alive.
But there’s also deep fear. This week, troops brought back to Israel the body of Itay Svirsky, who was killed in the initial Hamas attack and whose body was taken to Gaza..
The abandoned homes stand as testament to growing grief among families who still don’t have their loved ones home after more than a year — and wonder if they ever will.
The home of Matan Zangauker, hostage who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg).
The home of Matan Zangauker, hostage who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg).
The home of Oded Lifshitz, hostage who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of Oded Lifshitz, hostage who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of Ariel Cunio and Arbel Yehud, hostages who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of Ariel Cunio and Arbel Yehud, hostages who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of Ofer Kalderon, hostage who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of Ofer Kalderon, hostage who were pulled into Gaza by Hamas militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Mailboxes in Kibbutz Nir Oz southern Israel, attacked by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023, are labeled with stickers indicating who died and who was taken hostage and who is released from captivity , Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/ Ohad Zwigenberg).
Mailboxes in Kibbutz Nir Oz southern Israel, attacked by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023, are labeled with stickers indicating who died and who was taken hostage and who is released from captivity , Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/ Ohad Zwigenberg).