– I am scared. Very scared, said Hannie Ricardo (58) by telephone from Tel Aviv in Israel on Monday afternoon.

It had only been a few hours since he landed on a plane from the US, after two days of nightmares.

The feeling was still in his body, ever since he was awakened at 5:00 Saturday morning in New York by a phone call with an unreal message:

Hamas attacks the Nova music festival in southern Israel. 250 festival participants were killed. His youngest daughter, Oriya Ricardo (26), was among the missing victims.

– I started walking desperately repeating “no, no, no”. “It’s as if someone sucked all the energy out of my body,” said Ricardo, his voice choked with tears.

When Dagbladet spoke to her, 55 hours had passed since her daughter’s last sign of life.

Hamas’ attacks on Israel on Saturday, both from the air and from water and land, were the bloodiest in the last 50 years.

More than 700 Israelis were killed and 2,382 people were rushed to hospital, Israeli health authorities said Monday morning. Additionally, more than 100 people will be kidnapped. Hamas threatened on Monday night to execute Israeli hostages in response to any Israeli bombings.

Ricardo still doesn’t know what happened to his youngest daughter. Eyewitness reports have given him hope.

– As if he was saying goodbye

At the same time as she woke up to the cruel message, her mother discovered a message from the 26-year-old teenager.

The message was sent at 08:45 Israeli time, about one hour and 45 minutes after Hamas launched a major military operation:

“Mama. I love you very much.”

– It seems he said goodbye to me. It tore my heart apart. I love him so much.

The witness came forward

In the hours and days that followed, Hannie Ricardo, her ex-husband, and their two other daughters did everything in their power to uncover what happened to their daughters.

They went out and talked to surviving festival participants and other relatives, visiting hospitals and relatives’ centers.

It paid off. Ricardo was contacted by witnesses who said they had seen the 26 year old:

– He was a passenger in the car that was shot. The driver was killed and the car rolled over, but someone saw Oriya and his friend get out of the car, the mother said.

Shooting after volunteer rescue workers

– Scares me

Although no new leads emerged from his daughter, Ricardo was hopeful about her fate:

– My daughter is resourceful, brave and strong. I believe and hope he manages to escape. If he comes home, I want to hug him and show him how much he is loved.

– Several festival participants were taken hostage in Gaza. Have you ever thought that Oriya is among them?

– The thought forces itself on me, but I try not to think about it. It shocked me – she was the most beautiful girl in the world.

– Calls the hunt for Jews a struggle for freedom

– Monsters

Saturday’s attack was the largest on Israeli soil since Egypt and Syria unexpectedly started the Yom Kippur War in 1973. At the time, Hannie Ricardo was only eight years old.

He recalled with horror:

– It was very traumatic, I lost family members. All I and the majority of Israelis want is peace.

This trauma resurfaced in a serious way after the weekend, which he consistently referred to as “Israel’s 9/11.”

Ricardo clearly understood what he meant about Hamas fighters attacking innocent young people partying.

– I have nothing against real Palestinians, but they are monsters, and they have no place in this world. It is an inhumane act to hold three-four-five year old children and people using wheelchairs hostage.

Here you will find all Dagbladet articles about what is happening in Israel and Palestine since the Hamas attack on Saturday.