Needham man mourns the loss of two relatives taken hostage and killed by Hamas

A Needham man is grieving the loss of two relatives who were killed by Hamas.

Jason Greenberg said five of his relatives were taken hostage by Hamas in the Nir Oz kibbutz close to the Gaza Strip. He said Israeli military found the bodies of 80-year-old Carmela Dan and 13-year-old Noya Dan at the Gaza border. The Israeli government confirmed their deaths last week.

Greenberg remembered Carmela — his mother's cousin who he calls Aunt Carmela — as a loving woman loved to dance and cook Shabbat dinners. Noya, Carmela's granddaughter, was a Harry Potter fanatic.

Greenberg said he's heard nothing about the status of his three other relatives Ofer Kalderon, 50; and his children, Erez, 12, and Sahar, 16.

Greenberg was staying with his father north of Tel Aviv on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants launched a deadly attack in Israel. Greenberg said he awoke to sirens and went with his father to a safe room. He said that he was able to go back up to his father's home because their area wasn't being directly attacked, but that his phone started lighting up with messages in his family group chat.

Greenberg said Carmela's children shared WhatsApp messages that Carmela had sent, saying she heard gunshots and yelling and was sheltering in a safe room. He said Carmela messaged again that she smelled smoke around 10 a.m., and that was the last communication her children received.

"The Israeli Defense Forces notified us that they had identified Carmela and Noya's remains via DNA testing," said Greenberg. "And we have been told unofficially that the reason they were killed and the others lived is because they were the two most helpless of the five."

Greenberg said Carmela had a heart condition and walked slowly and Noya is on the autism spectrum. He said when he learned of their deaths, he felt "a terrible sense of relief to know that Carmela and Noya weren't continuing to suffer."

"Their suffering was relatively quick, not necessarily painless, but quick as compared to Ofer, Sahar and Erez, who as far as we know, are still in captivity," said Greenberg.

He said that his sister and brother-in-law, who live in Israel, have been talking to the U.S. and Israeli governments, trying to secure the release of their three family members and other hostages held by Hamas. Greenberg has returned to the United States with his father, who is originally from Massachusetts but has lived in Israel since 2020, and said he is doing what he can from home.

"You can use all the reason and logic you want as to why these hostages should be released, Hamas doesn't operate that way. So it's there is a desperation and an emptiness knowing that you're not dealing with rational people," said Greenberg.

Two American hostages held by Hamas were released over the weekend. The release of Illinois mother and daughter Judith Raanan, 59, and Natalie Raanan, 17, was facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the result of negotiations among the U.S., Israel, Qatar and Hamas, NPR reported.

Meanwhile, a limited number of aid trucks have been allowed into Gaza as Israel continues to bombard Gaza with retaliatory airstrikes that have killed Palestinian civilians. Palestinians and Palestinian Americans, including a family from Medway, have been unable to leave Gaza as the border crossing to Egypt remains closed to civilians looking to flee.