Sasha Ariev, sister of lookout Karina, who was kidnapped by Hamas to the Gaza Strip, tells Arutz Sheva – Israel National News about the hope and faith that she will celebrate the anniversary of her sister's kidnapping together with her sister and the other hostages.
"We are currently counting three hundred days since the October 7th. Today is the new month of Av (Rosh Chodesh Av), which is a month that should remind us of the power of baseless hatred, that is stronger than any weapon and any enemy. How much these days, especially on this date, when we are witnessing discussions about a hostage deal and assassinations and the general situation in Israel, we need to unite and remember that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. We do not need to split ourselves into parts," says Ariev.
She emphasizes that it is certainly possible that the beliefs and perceptions are different, but we must preserve the unifying elements between us. "We can talk about a military rescue, a deal, a miracle, a country, an army or God, but in the end, we are all one blood. We are all the same person and we all want our hostages home, it doesn’t matter how," says Ariev, and once again conveys a message of unity, exactly during the current difficult period Israel is experiencing.
On her personal feelings about the long period of time that has passed since October 7th, Ariev says that it seems that "time has stretched out. I don't feel like 300 days have passed. I feel like I am in one very long week. October 7th is only a few days ago. It's hard for me to comprehend this period, the changing seasons, the past holidays, the dates. Next Sunday, Karina will celebrate her 20th birthday. Time has long lost any dimension."
And every day and every moment, says Ariev, our family imagines the moment when Karina will return home, with the feeling that "thoughts create reality and trust in God creates reality, so we remind ourselves of this every day and talk about what we will do when Karina is here. How we will be reunited with her and what pictures there will be of the event. This is what keeps us going with hope."