A HEARTBROKEN mum learned her teenage son was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists after her young daughter spotted him at gunpoint in an Instagram video.
Herut Nimrodi revealed she sees the terrified face of Tamir, 19, in her dreams each night following his capture by armed militants nine months ago.
All that was left at the scene was a note left behind by her son and his broken glasses, which partially-sighted Tamir needed so desperately to see.
Fighting back tears, Herut recounted the devastating moment that she discovered her son was being held by extremist butchers.
Reliving her torment, she told The Sun: “It is not an easy thing to think about. My son Tamir was abducted when he was just 18 years old.
“On October 7th, I woke up from a telephone call. I saw his name on the screen, but I didn’t get the chance to answer that call.
“I saw he texted me a message asking me if I was okay. Because I’m divorced with two younger daughters, he felt that he was the man of the house, so he really wanted to make sure that we were okay.
“The place where we live is very quiet. There’s hardly ever any sirens going on, so it was very quiet that morning.
“It was 6.40 in the morning. I told him that everything was fine, what was going on.”
Tamir, who worked providing humanitarian aid for Palestinians as part of the Israel Defence Force (IDF), said rockets were raining down on his home in Erez Crossing, close to Gaza.
Herut, a finance worker at Nestle, said: “He said, ‘lucky for you because there are rockets everywhere and it’s falling on our houses’.
“Tamir said, ‘I’ll be back home in a little while, I believe so’. I told him to take good care of himself and text me when he can. He said, I will try. That was the last I’ve heard from him.
“We started to hear rumours that it’s different this time. We never imagined that they will invade military bases. This base is based on the northern border of the Gaza Strip.
“We started to feel that something was going on, but we had no clue of the horrors unfolding. We texted him, but there was no reply.”
Mum-of-three Herut said her daughter Amit, then 14, came running towards her sobbing with her phone in her hand.
She said: “At around 2 o’clock in the afternoon, my youngest daughter, she was 14 at the time, came screaming and shouting that she had seen her brother being abducted on Instagram.
“She gave me her phone and I watched the video. At first I didn’t recognise him because he was so terrified.
“Tamir was hiding his face so they won’t hit him, they were bullying him and screaming at him. There were three of them. He was with his pyjamas. He was barefoot with no glasses on.
“He can hardly see anything without his glasses. I think that the terrifying look on his eyes are with me every night when I go to sleep. To see that as a mother with no way I can reach him or help him.
“There was a note he wrote in his pocket that he was using as an affirmation. It read ‘to succeed helping a lot of people, To create a close circle of friends, and not to harm anyone’.
“He’s only started his life right now and he’s got dreams and ambitions. It all stopped at that moment.
“The last footage we saw was of him being dragged over his friend’s dead body through the brick walls into the Gaza Strip.
“They pushed him outside of the shelter with their hands in the air. They put all three of them near a wall with their hands behind their heads.
“They started to kick them. That’s where I got the footage of three of them.
“After that they grabbed him by his neck and took him running very far through the break walls. He was paying what went through his mind. I can’t even start to imagine.”
The video shown to the mother showed Tamir covering his face before he is led away by his captors. A later clip showed him being forced to cross barefoot over the bodies of two dead men.
His family now fear that Tamir is being kept deep in a tunnel in war-torn Gaza.
Herut said: “I don’t wish this reality upon any mother. Till this day I don’t really understand that this is my situation.
“I think this is something that protects me but it seems like I’m telling a story. This is somebody else’s life. It cannot be my life. I miss him.
Tamir was hiding his face so they won’t hit him, they were bullying him and screaming at him. There were three of them. He was with his pyjamas. He was barefoot with no glasses on.
Tamir's mother, Herut Nimrodi
“He’s not just only my son. He’s a friend. We used to talk for hours until 2 o’clock in the morning. He tells me everything.
“I’ve heard from his friends now that he always considered me one of his best friends. It means the world to me. I’m not only missing a son. I’m also missing a friend.”
Herut, of Nirit close to Tel Aviv, lives in hope each day with daughters Amit, 15, and Mika, 17, that her son will be freed.
She has been campaigning for the release of Tamir along with his dad Alon, 53.
The mum said: “My daughters hardly ever talk about it. It’s very traumatic for them. They’re trying to live their life, even though there’s a question of their brother.
“We are, as parents, trying to do whatever we can. We’re going everywhere. Wherever there is a door open for us, we’re using that. We came here to the UK.
“We met with members of the parliament, from the Labour Party and the Conservatives. They’ve all been so supportive and sympathetic.
“It looks like it’s very important for them also. It’s strengthened us.
“Hopefully, even though there’s no indication whether he’s alive or not. We’re starting to fear the worst that has happened.
“You can handle a yes, you can handle a no. But to be in between, it’s like a marathon.
“You need to… I don’t know how to say it exactly. It’s a short running, you need to speed up very fast. But when it’s a marathon, you need to pace your steps.
“Otherwise, you’ll be with no strength at all to continue. We need to continue. I hope not for long. But there’s no promise.”
Herut added: “October 7th was a warning sign for the entire Western world.
“And it’s… It’s frightening me to think that the West will be next, if we don’t act. It’s very important for the readers to understand that this is not a Jewish issue. This is the entire world’s issue.”
Some 120 Israelis remain captive in Gaza and an IDF offensive against Hamas continues.
Talks to secure a ceasefire in a deal which would include the release the captives in return for Palestinian prisoners are set to resume this week.
