Eli Albag, the father of Liri, who returned from Gaza on Shabbos, exposed further details of her captivity in an interview on Monday morning.
Albag held a press conference on Sunday evening during which he slammed anyone who opposed the hostage deal, threatening: “The people will hold you accountable.” Albag was criticized for his statement in turn by Israelis who opposed the deal, especially since many bereaved families who lost their children in battle in Gaza or whose sons are even in captivity in Gaza are included among them.
In an interview with Radio 103FM, Albag clarified his position, saying that his criticism was intended only for the politicians who opposed the deal and he doesn’t, chalilah, judge bereaved families.
He then explained his position by repeating something that Liri told him. “Do you know what Liri told me? ‘Dad, there are two million terrorists there, don’t be mistaken.’ So if they release 6,000 or 2,000 or 200 into the two million [terrorists in Gaza], we should celebrate that because tomorrow, if someone shoots a bullet, they’ll wipe out Gaza, but let them wipe out Gaza when the hostages aren’t there.”
“Liri told me, ‘Abba, there are two million terrorists there. I sat with small children, four-year-olds, who would make spitting gestures at Jews.’ Do you understand what that means? Does anyone understand what that means? So they talk to me about what? About Sinwar who was released? They could have eliminated him a thousand times, no, two thousand times, and all of Hamas that went wild and did whatever it wanted even before October 7—they could have destroyed them like they destroyed Hezbollah.”
Regarding how Liri was treated in captivity, he said: “Terrorists, shocking things. It’s difficult to tell everything. We’re afraid because there are still hostages there; we need to be careful with our words. But let’s just say they’re not our friends, they’re our enemies who want to kill us. We need to bring everyone back and stay vigilant.”
About Liri’s condition, he said: “Liri is strong. We’re not surprised. She saved lives there in Gaza. There are many things but not everything can be talked about – she said she indirectly saved Amit Soussana’s life. On Tuesday, Channel 12 is publishing a report about it. Liri didn’t want to talk about it but Amit will tell the story.” [Amit Soussana, 40, was released from captivity in November 2023 and later told the press that she was assaulted by her Hamas guard.]
Regarding Liri’s physical condition, and whether she was beaten, Eli said that Liri “is still not ready to talk about it.”
When asked about Hamas’s exploitation of the girls, parading them on a stage in Palestine Square in front of hundreds of terrorists before releasing them, Albag said: “Hamas terrorists demanded that the girls speak, so Liri and the girls said, not only will we not speak – we will make a victory gesture and disrupt their entire show – so the moment they made the victory gesture, they took the girls down. When Liri spoke to me, she told me, ‘Dad, I would have said one sentence in Arabic: ‘My name is Liri Albag, and I am number one.'”
According to the other girls, Liri was the leader of the group and communicated with the Hamas terrorists on behalf of all of them.
