‘Worse than Nazis’: Israeli grandmother thinks grandchildren dead
- Eva Chiel is an Israeli grandmother with Holocaust survivor parents
- Chiel hasn't heard from her grandchildren for over 80 hours
- Chiel says hostages' treatment is worse than the Nazis
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(NewsNation) — Eva Chiel, an Israeli grandmother with Holocaust survivor parents, is facing a deeply personal ordeal: Her two grandchildren were among those who attended a concert near Gaza during a Hamas militant attack.
The attack is thought to be the deadliest civilian massacre in Israel’s history, with 260 casualties and many taken as hostages. Chiel hasn’t heard from her grandchildren since.
In an interview on “Elizabeth Vargas Reports,” Chiel expressed her belief her grandchildren perished in the attack.
“It’s been over 80 hours, and we haven’t heard anything. And we’re not the only ones,” Chiel said.
Chiel raised concerns about the inhumane treatment of hostages by terrorist groups and likens the situation to the Holocaust her own parents endured, deeming it a modern-day “Shoah.”
“I know what the Nazis did to the Jews, and I’m a daughter of a Holocaust survivor. I know what my parents went through. These are even worse than the Nazis,” Chiel said.
Her grandchildren, aged 27 and 24, were attending a music festival in southern Israel and last contacted their parents when they were under rocket attack. Their situation quickly turned chaotic as they attempted to escape the unfolding horror, according to Chiel.
“They called their parents and said we are being attacked by rockets. They didn’t know about the terrorists. That happened a few minutes later when they took the cars and started to drive out of the party area,” said Chiel.
Despite a thorough search of local hospitals, Chiel’s family has been unable to locate her missing grandchildren. The identification process is further complicated due to the need for DNA analysis to confirm the identities of those who died.
“There are like 300 people that have to be identified. And that’s what they’re saying it’s going to take a long time because there’s so many of them,” said Chiel.
“I grew up with a family of Holocaust survivors, and that wasn’t easy. And the stories I have from there, I don’t even want to remember. Thinking of what my grandchildren may be going through, things that are as bad or worse than that. It’s a very difficult thing to live with,” Chiel said.
