Jaffa resident visiting family in Gaza prior to Oct. 7 trapped due to war, family tells N12

JULY 7, 2024 20:43

A woman puts up a poster on a message board with pictures of hostages, who are being held in the Gaza Strip after they were seized by Hamas gunmen on October 7, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel December 6, 2023. (photo credit: REUTERS/CLODAGH KILCOYNE) — A woman puts up a poster on a message board with pictures of hostages, who are being held in the Gaza Strip after they were seized by Hamas gunmen on October 7, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel December 6, 2023.

(photo credit: REUTERS/CLODAGH KILCOYNE)

The family of Mahmoud Biyari has lobbied the state to return their loved one, and has also sought to include him among the list of hostages still held by Hamas.

Mahmoud Biyari, an Israeli citizen, resident of Jaffa, and father of five entered the Gaza Strip before October 7 to visit his family, but remains there to this day, N12 reported on Sunday.

N12 learned that due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, Biyari attempted to return to Israel but was unable to.

Biyari's son, Said, told N12 that his father had close family in Gaza, and entered with state approval prior to October 7. He also mentioned that the building in which his father stayed in Khan Yunis was bombed on December 19, but reports remain conflicted and uncertainty rises as to whether he was in the building at the time.

"He wanted to return home to Israel, but because of the war, it was not possible."

However, Israeli authorities have yet to classify him as a hostage or missing, N12 noted.

A poster of a hostage kidnapped in the October 7 attack is seen as people attend a protest in Tel Aviv, Israel, May 25, 2024 (credit: REUTERS/MARKO DJURICA)

"To this day, we have not been able to contact him. We don't know if he was in the building or outside it. Security forces are dealing with the matter, but unfortunately, there is no new information to date. They say they are committed to bringing him back, but so far, there is no news on the subject. My father is not on the list of kidnapped and missing persons, even though he is Israeli and in Gaza," Said said in a quote to N12.

"We ask the state to consider my father among the number of kidnapped and missing persons in Gaza. He is there."

N12 confirmed that the IDF is aware of the issue and is being addressed. Additionally, the Israel Police confirmed to N12 that the story is known, and a complaint was filed by Biyari's family.