The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group claimed Tuesday evening that it has lost contact with the captors of Israeli hostage Rom Braslavski, more than three months since the last known sign of life.
Responding to the statement, Braslavski’s family released a message saying, “No one knows where Rom is—not the IDF and not Islamic Jihad. The only thing we knew for sure was that he was being held alone.”
The credibility of Islamic Jihad’s claim remains unclear. In the past, Gaza-based terror groups have falsely asserted that hostages were killed in Israeli airstrikes—only for those hostages to later return alive.
Video of Rom Braslavski released by Palestinian Islamic Jihad
The family is urgently seeking a meeting with one of Israel’s top officials—IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, Defense Minister Israel Katz, or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—none of whom, they say, have responded to their appeals.
“Gal Hirsch was the only one to acknowledge us, but he didn’t have the answers or information we needed. No one else has gotten back to us,” the family said in a statement.
In their message, the family wrote: “We want to know where our son is. We want those responsible to sit with us and present the full picture—not fragments of information and half-truths. We heard what Minister Orit Strock said. Let her put herself in our place. Let her feel what I, Tami, feel as a mother—she would never speak that way. When members of the government imagine themselves in our shoes, their decisions might look different. Let’s see if they would still prioritize territory over the lives of hostages. We are broken and in pain. We demand answers from our country about our beloved Rom.”
In a radio interview Monday with Kol BaRama, Strock said she supports the expanded ground oepration in Gaza, even if it endangers hostages' lives.
The last visual proof of life from Braslavski was received in April, 588 days after he was abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7. A week later, his family allowed portions of his captivity video to be released to the public.
In the video, Braslavski—who was 21 at the time and serving as an IDF soldier from Jerusalem—said: “I’ve been held in Gaza for over a year and a half—a year and a half of suffering and hell, day after day. There’s no food, no water. I’m constantly sick. Look at my body—covered in red sores. I’m in constant pain, and I have no idea what the illness is. My physical and mental condition is beyond despair.
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“There’s no hospital for me. No medicine. When the next illness hits, I’ll just die and be buried in a pit of sand. That’s what’s going to happen.”
Braslavski continued: “I have no family. My mother is at home, shattered, crying 24/7. My October 7 never ended. It won’t ever end. It goes on every day. There’s no light, no sun, no moon, no air to breathe. I have nothing left. One day I eat, one day I don’t. My entire life has turned into endless darkness.”
Rom, who worked as a security guard at the Nova festival, was praised for his bravery on the day of the attack. Numerous eyewitness accounts confirmed that he helped others escape the massacre. His brother Amit later shared images from the captivity footage on Instagram.
After parts of the video were made public, his mother, Tami, gave a tearful interview, saying: “This is horrifying! A disgrace to the State of Israel. I had to see this on Telegram like everyone else. Not Nitzan Alon, not Gal Hirsch, not Bibi—no one picks up the phone.”