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LOUISE CALLAGHAN | DISPATCH

‘I wake up with nightmares, but my kidnapped children are living one’

A mother whose son, 12, and daughter, 16, were taken along with their father by Hamas is one of many fighting for the release of hostages

Hadas Kalderon holds a birthday cake for her son Erez, who turns 12 today while being held hostage in Gaza with his sister and father
Hadas Kalderon holds a birthday cake for her son Erez, who turns 12 today while being held hostage in Gaza with his sister and father
RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS
Louise Callaghan
The Sunday Times

Since her children were taken, Hadas Kalderon doesn’t really sleep, but when she does, she screams so loudly she wakes up.

The nightmares rush in, no different from waking. Erez, who turned 12 last week, sensitive and sweet. Sahar, 16, beautiful and clever. Both of them, along with their father, her ex-husband, kidnapped from their home in the Nir Oz kibbutz by Hamas terrorists.

Her community was one of the worst hit in the October 7 massacre. After the attack, 160 survivors picked their way through the burnt ruins of their village and were taken to Eilat, a resort town by the Red Sea, 130 miles away, on buses.

Erez Kalderon was kidnapped from the family home in the Nir Oz kibbutz
Erez Kalderon was kidnapped from the family home in the Nir Oz kibbutz
HADAS KALDERON/SABRINA BELHASSEN/AP

For weeks, they have been living in a luxury hotel, walking half-dazed past the breakfast