Needham man rejoices as cousins are among 11 hostages released

A Needham man said his two young cousins were among the 11 hostages released by Hamas on Monday, but their father remains in captivity in the Gaza Strip more than seven weeks after the militant group’s brutal Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel.

Jason Greenberg said he was able to watch video Monday showing his cousin Sahar Kalderon, 16, and her brother Erez, 12, being released by Hamas militants into the care of the Red Cross. They were then taken to a hospital in Israel to be medically evaluated and reunited with their mother and sister, he said.

“Today is a very good day,” Greenberg said in a phone interview. “I’m just happy to see them emerge.”

Their father, Ofer Kalderon, 53, is believed to still be in Gaza, he said. “There’s no prospect of him being released soon, so that weighs on me heavily, as it does for the rest of my family,” Greenberg said.

Israel and Hamas agreed Monday to extend their ceasefire for two more days, opening the possibility of further prisoner exchanges. The release of hostages Monday night was the fourth exchange since the ceasefire began Friday. Thirty-three Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived early Tuesday in east Jerusalem and the West Bank town of Ramallah, according to the Associated Press.

Greenberg’s aunt, Carmela Dan, 80, and her granddaughter Noya, 13, were killed in the initial Oct. 7 attack as they were being taken to Gaza, he said.

Ofer Kalderon and his children were at their home on a kibbutz near the border with Gaza when Hamas stormed the area and smoked them out of the home, Greenberg said. The next day, a video surfaced online that showed Erez being held by Hamas militants. Greenberg said Erez turned 12 on Nov. 2 while he was in captivity.

Greenberg said Ofer, Sahar, and Erez Kalderon were separated during their abduction. He said it was “a miracle” to see the siblings freed together.

Ofer Kalderon’s wife and their other daughter were in another kibbutz nearby when the attack began and fled into a saferoom, where Ofer’s wife held the door shut for several hours until the militants left, Greenberg said. He said she had to cling to the door to keep it closed, eventually losing circulation in her arm and later requiring treatment to regain feeling.

He said a relative shared a video with him showing her receiving the news that her children were to be released Monday.

“I’ve seen videos of her just rejoicing in the middle of a mall today,” he said. “So she is in a much better place.”

Greenberg was in Israel with his 79-year-old father on Oct. 7, but they were able to fly home after he convinced his father they needed to leave.

Greenberg said he is eager to return to Israel and be with his family as they wait for news about Ofer Kalderon, but it is still not the right time to travel there. He said he feels joy knowing Sahar and Erez Kalderon are safe, but those feelings are mixed with sadness as he thinks about Carmela and Noya Dan.

He said Noya, who had autism and was a big fan of the Harry Potter books, would often visit her grandmother for Shabbat and spend the night, as she did the weekend of the attack. Israeli officials posted a photo of Noya Dan on social media on Oct. 15 showing her dressed in an outfit suitable for Hogwarts School, with a Harry Potter book clutched to her chest and a wand in her hand.

Four days later, Israeli officials issued another post that said the bodies of Noya Dan and her grandmother had been found.

“They loved to spend Shabbat together,” Greenberg said. “It was just another Friday night, spending the night at Grandma’s house . . . That’s where their fate was sealed.”

Greenberg said he feels sadness for the thousands of civilians in Gaza who have died and others who have suffered under Israel’s bombardment in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack, but he said there needs to be a clear and unified condemnation of Hamas for the attack that sparked the war.

Since early October, more than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli siege of Gaza, roughly two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza. More than 1,200 people have died on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed during the initial attack.

“I empathize with all of those who are supporting the civilians in Gaza, the Palestinians; they are suffering as well, but what I’m not hearing is an outcry and condemnation of Hamas’s actions in all of this,” he said. “We would not be here right now if Hamas had not initiated this in early October.”