Rivka Bohbot, the wife of kidnapped Israeli citizen Elkana Bohbot, sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday evening over his stated intention to expand military operations in Gaza — including a full occupation of Gaza.
“I have no words left. This is simply sacrificing our parents, sacrificing my husband. I’m terribly worried. I don’t understand where they’re trying to go,” Bohbot said in an interview with Kan News. “Why aren’t our hostages—my husband, all the others—at the top of the priority list? It’s painful.”
She insisted that the only way to bring the hostages home alive is through a deal: “Military force will only bring back bodies. I want my husband home—alive.”
Bohbot also addressed the recent footage released of hostages Rom Breslavsky and Evyatar David: “For me, watching the video of Rom and Evyatar is exactly like watching a video of my husband. I asked to see it, and I saw it—I can’t not look. This is their reality. For a long time now, not a single grain of wheat has entered the Strip. And of course, that has affected our hostages. I always send my strength to Elkana - my good energy - tell him to stay strong.”
She further expressed support for the flotilla of hostage families that set out toward Gaza today, and even voiced willingness to take action herself: “If it weren’t for the fact that I have a child, I’d already be in Gaza myself. I have another passport, I’m Colombian and I’d go in. I want to do everything so I can say: ‘I did everything to bring my husband home.’ I can’t sit still. I have to get out there and fight. That’s why I came into this world. This is my war.”