Time is frozen in the empty bedrooms of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas

KIBBUTZ NIR OZ, Israel — The empty rooms of the Israelis kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 remain frozen in time.

Nine months into their captivity in Gaza, some hostages’ rooms still show signs of the violence and fighting of that day: blood-stained floors, bullet-riddled walls, charred and toppled furniture.

Others exude tranquility and routine: their beds are unmade and their belongings (trophies, stuffed animals, framed photographs) remain untouched at the behest of shocked families as testament to their absence.

Hamas militants killed approximately 1,200 people in Israel on October 7 and kidnapped about 250, many of them taken from their bedrooms. Since then, the Israeli military has killed more than 38,000 Palestinians while fighting Hamas in Gaza, according to local health officials who do not distinguish between civilians and militants in their count.

Around 120 hostages remain in Gaza, although Israel believes at least 40 of them are dead. During a ceasefire in November, 105 hostages were freed. Some hostages have been rescued alive and the Israeli army has recovered the bodies of others during military operations.

For many of those abducted at Kibbutz Nir Oz, their bedrooms or entire houses were destroyed. All that remains of David Cunio and Sharon Alony Cunio’s charred bedroom are the twisted springs of their mattress, lying in a pile of soot.

“This was a place of joy until October 7, of joy, of the gift of union, of giving, of love. Now, it is not just a war zone, but a place of massacre,” said Jonathan Dekel-Chen, as he leaned on the doorframe of his son, Sagui’s, destroyed bedroom.

Dekel-Chen wonders how his family, now living with other members of Kibbutz Nir Oz in temporary housing an hour away, will ever regain their sense of security. Sagui’s wife, Avital, was seven months pregnant on October 7 and survived the attack with her two daughters hiding for hours in the family’s safe room. She gave birth to a third daughter during Sagui’s captivity.

In a Tel Aviv suburb, plastic sheets cover the furniture in Or and Einav Levy’s empty house. Or was kidnapped and Einav killed when militants attacked the Nova music festival in southern Israel. His three-year-old son Almog now lives with his grandparents.

The family of Naama Levy, 20, a soldier kidnapped at a military base near Gaza, has kept almost everything intact in his bedroom. But they have also filled his bedroom with collages of photos and gifts that people have given Naama when he returns.

Amit Levy, Naama’s brother, 21, said he sometimes sleeps in his sister’s room when he feels especially depressed. “It helps me feel her, being in her room and the photos of her around me, I’m not sad because I’m always thinking that she will soon come home.”

In the bedroom of 21-year-old Omer Shem-Tov, kidnapped along with 40 other people at a music festival, the light never goes out. His mother, Shelly Shem-Tov, put a piece of tape over the light switch on Oct. 8 with instructions that no one should touch or clean the room until he gets home and does it himself.

Omer’s room is filled with mementos, including a Torah scroll, which has been blessed by rabbis.

“That room strengthens me,” said Shem-Tov, who actively pressures the Israeli government to bring his son (and all the hostages) home.

“This bedroom has energy,” said Shem-Tov, who prays in it every morning and night and holds long conversations with his other children as they lie in Omer’s bed. “I feel like he can sense me when I’m there.”