The family of Carmel Gatto, whose bodies were among six hostages found in an underground Hamas tunnel earlier this month, have called for people to “cherish her memory” after a new video was released showing the harrowing conditions of her captivity.
Gatto’s cousin, Gil Dickman, published a scathing Facebook post on Tuesday, nearly a year after the Oct. 7 attack, calling on the Israeli government to use his cousin’s death as an opening to negotiate with Hamas for the hostages’ release.
Responding to a video released by the Israeli army on Tuesday showing poor conditions with low ceilings in the tunnels where the hostages are believed to have been held, Dickman accused Israel of wasting its time while Gaza prisoners languished in underground “torture chambers”.
“The torture did not kill them; it was the military pressure exerted on them before the agreement was realised that killed them,” Dickman wrote.
“When I saw the shocking footage of the tunnel that you will see starting tonight, I couldn’t help but imagine Carmel there. She is almost as tall as me – 1.74m – and there was no way she could stand up straight. I thought of the suffocation, the filth, the insane darkness and heat,” Dickman wrote.
“The answer to this video and this murder cannot be murder or revenge. There is no connection between Carmel and revenge. The answer to death is no more death. She is life. The answer must be a deal to bring the hostages that are still there alive and home and bury those that were murdered. Carmel, I am sorry. May your memory be the deal,” Dickman added.
“May their memory be a blessing” is a phrase often said after a death in Jewish tradition.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Hostages and Families Forum described the IDF video as “shocking” and called for the release of the hostages remaining in Gaza.
“Hungry, exhausted and tortured, they cling to only one hope: that we will continue to fight for their freedom. They believe we will bring them home… Time is running out! That light, that hope, will not fade. A deal must be made now!”