Israel’s National Insurance pays for mental health counseling for parents, spouses, and children of hostages. Still, the situation has paralyzed Berger’s family.One of his three daughters, a senior in high school, has not gone to school since Oct. 7. One of his young daughters has stopped eating. His wife, an industrial engineer, does not go to work. He tries to avoid the news, to save himself the daily roller coaster.“One minute you read the news and say, okay, it’s close, and another minute it’s not. Nobody really knows what’s happening,” he said.Overnight, the parents of 33-year-old Or Levy became caretakers to Levy’s 2-year-old son, Almog. Hamas militants killed Almog’s mother, Eynav, and took Levy hostage on Oct. 7. The family had to explain to young Almog that his mother is dead and his father missing.“Most days I don’t even recognize my parents. My dad barely talks. Before Oct. 7, the last thing you could say about him was that he was a fragile man and now everybody who sees him is afraid to hug him,” said Michael Levy, Or’s brother. Levy said he’s lost 9 kilos (20 pounds) and barely sleeps.Going forward, relatives said their strategies won’t change. They will continue to meet with the war cabinet, continue hoping for an eventual release.On Monday, Sharon and Nissan Kalderon watched the sun set on the first full day of Ramadan.“We really thought, today is the day,” Sharon said. “But unfortunately, this is just another day.”
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