Israeli woman appeals to Erdoğan for grandson's release from Hamas

TEL AVIV

An Israeli woman has called on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to assume the role of mediator for the release of her grandson abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7.

Speaking in Turkish during an interview in the Israeli capital with CNN Türk aired on Dec. 20, Stella Sambrano, who was born in Türkiye and lived in Istanbul for a long time, noted that her 21-year-old grandson Yonatan was taken by Hamas at the open-air Nova music festival near the border.

“My grandson was in the dancing area that day. Fearing the bombs, he and three friends got into a car. Hamas was at the door, and they took my grandson," Sambrano said.

"We are very sad; I was born in Istanbul, Kadıköy. I completed middle school there, and my entire family was there. We come to Istanbul seven or eight times a year. Istanbul is our sole holiday destination."

"We love Istanbul, we love Erdoğan. As a grandmother, I beg him to bring our child back. We are sincerely asking him to help reunite us with my grandchild," Sambrano added.

The war began when Hamas militants burst out of Gaza on Oct. 7, killing around 1,140 people in Israel, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250. Dozens of Hamas militants who had blown through Israel’s heavily fortified separation fence and crossed into the country from Gaza opened fire on about 3,500 young Israelis who had come together for the festival. Some 105 were later released by Hamas during a six-day ceasefire at the end of November.