Child Survivor of Oct. 7 Hamas Attack Joins Maccabi Tel Aviv in Calling for Release of All Hostages

9-year-old Michael Idan, a survivor of the Oct. 7 Massacre, takes the field with Maccabi Tel Aviv, holding a poignant banner that boldly declares: ‘Bring Them Home Now!’

By Shiryn Ghermezian, Algemeiner

Michael Idan, a nine-year-old child who survived Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel by hiding in a closet for 14 hours, joined Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer players on the field on Sunday night ahead of their match against Hapoel Jerusalem in Israel to call for the immediate release of all hostages taken by Hamas.

Idan helped the Maccabi Tel Aviv players hold a banner on the field at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem that read “Bring Them Home Now!”

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בני משפחתה של אביגייל עידן בת ה-3 ששוחררה משבי חמאס נכחו הערב במשחק בטדי. מיכאל עידן, אחיה של אביגייל, ליווה את דור תורג׳מן עם העלייה לכר הדשא לפני שריקת הפתיחה. אנו מודים להפועל ירושלים שאיפשרה את קיום המחווה. pic.twitter.com/XLIQePK2tf

— Maccabi Tel Aviv FC (@MaccabiTLVFC) December 3, 2023

Idan and his six-year-old sister Amalia hid in a closet in their house for 14 hours on Oct. 7 and watched Hamas terrorists murder their parents.

Their little sister Avigail was hiding in her neighbor’s home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza when she was kidnapped by Hamas and taken hostage to the Gaza Strip. She turned four while in captivity and was released on Nov. 26 as part of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt, Qatar, and the US between Hamas and Israel.

The siblings, who are all US citizens, are now orphans and are being taken care of by relatives.

Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel Jerusalem 2-1 on Sunday night at Teddy Stadium, with Osher Davida scoring the second-half winning goal. Eran Zahavi scored Maccabi’s first goal of the game 10 minutes into the second half.