‘This is terror’: Virginia woman living in Israel says family was taken hostage by Hamas

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - As the unrest continues in Gaza City, one Virginia native living in Israel provides a first-hand account of the horror.

Abbey Onn, originally from Fairfax County, says five of her family members have gone radio silent near the Gaza border, leading her to fear the worst.

She says she and her children heard sirens and had to take cover in a bomb shelter. After the coast was clear, she contacted other extended family members.

“We have a family WhatsApp group and started seeing messages from our family living in a kibbutz on the Gaza border, and we began seeing messages that Hamas terrorists were in the kibbutz,” Onn said. “Our family was in their bomb shelters because the rockets were very, very close to them.”

She says the situation escalated as they exchanged messages.

“After we got the messages that Hamas was in their house, they said that they could hear gunfire, and they were scared for their lives,” Onn said.

After receiving those messages, she says her family went radio silent.

“What we know now is that Hamas terrorists burned the village to the ground and killed many, many of the residents,” Onn said. “Those they didn’t kill, they’ve taken hostage. We got video proof the next day, on Sunday, of my cousin’s son, 12 years old, in the hands of Hamas.”

That little boy is Erez Kalderon. This video circulating on social media shows what appears to be Erez being manhandled by men with guns.

“I burst into tears...It is a parent’s worst nightmare. It is unfathomable,” she said.

She says Erez is likely being held hostage by Hamas and other family members.

Ofer Kalderon, 50, Sahar Kalderon, 16, Noya Dan, 13, Erez Kalderon, 12 and Carmela Dan, 80, have been missing since the weekend.

She says her cousin, Noya Dan, has special needs.

“It’s a humanitarian story,” Onn said. “This is not a war. This is terror. These were terrorists. 3,000 men broke down borders and came down from the sky to rape and kill and slaughter and kidnap.”

Onn says they need people across the United States to put pressure on the government, put pressure on social media, and speak out about the atrocities going on.

“This is inhumane. It is something we have never seen. This is Pearl Harbor and 9/11 and the Holocaust for us,” Onn said. “This is everything wrapped into one. It was our biggest fear. We want people to think about this from the human perspective and not the perspective of a political conflict. This isn’t a political conflict. This is terror.”

Onn says she and her children have stocked up on food and water and will continue to shelter downstairs.

She says her main focus remains trying to stay calm and do everything in her power to get more information to help bring her family home.