Family of Abducted Israeli Rom Braslavski Demands Answers After PIJ 'Loses Contact'

The family of Rom Braslavski, a 21-year-old Israeli abducted during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on the Nova music festival, issued a desperate plea for answers after the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) claimed it lost contact with his captors. The announcement followed an IDF operation in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on July 21, 2025, a city previously avoided due to the presence of hostages. The family, devastated by the uncertainty, demanded a meeting with senior officials, stating, “We demand a meeting with one of the senior officials, the IDF Chief of Staff, the Minister of Defense, or the Prime Minister. They have not responded, answered, or acknowledged our messages, and they have not updated or involved us as a family. Gal Hirsch was the only one who responded and answered, but he does not have the answers or the information to give us. No one is getting back to us.”

In a statement, the family expressed their anguish: “We want to know where our son is. We want the responsible parties to sit with us and explain the situation to us, not just provide partial information and partial truths. No one knows where Rom is. Neither the IDF nor Islamic Jihad know anything. The only thing we know is that he was held alone.” The last proof of life came in April 2025, when PIJ released a propaganda video showing Rom, visibly ill, pleading for release. Earlier, released hostage Sasha Troufanov confirmed meeting Rom in captivity, providing hope he was alive. Braslavski, a Pisgat Ze’ev resident, was a security guard at the festival, saving dozens before his abduction between 2-4 p.m. on October 7, after hours of heroic efforts.

The family criticized Minister Orit Strock’s support for expanded Gaza operations, saying, “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.” With 50 hostages still in Gaza, 20 believed alive, and ceasefire talks in Qatar ongoing, posts on X reflect public outrage, one stating, “Rom’s family deserves answers, not silence.”