"I don't know what to do": Dad recounts the loss of his wife and the fact that his two daughters were taken away by Hamas
"I couldn't believe this was happening to me," Yoni Asher said.
Israeli father Yoni Asher said he had been living with a "nightmare" since learning that Hamas militants had taken his wife and two young daughters hostage in an unprecedented raid by a terror group on Saturday.
In an emotional interview with ABC News anchor David Muir, Arthur said he learned about the horrific incident by watching online videos of loved ones behind a truck surrounded by armed militants.
"I recognized them immediately and I watched the video twice. The second time, I couldn't look any further," Arthur said. "I got down on my knees. I don't know what to do.
Hamas militants, many on motorcycles, attacked the blockaded area of the Gaza Strip, firing indiscriminately at people on the Israeli side of the border, officials said. Video footage surfaced of militants kidnapping Israeli citizens — including mothers, children and the elderly — and bringing them back to the border into Gaza.
On Monday, Hamas threatened that unless Israel immediately stopped shelling homes in Gaza without warning, it would begin killing Israeli hostages one by one and filming executions.
Arthur said his wife and daughter, ages 2 and 4, were taken hostage while visiting their grandmother in southern Israel.
He said his wife initially called him to tell him she and their daughter were hiding in a secure room at her grandmother's house.
But during the call, the phone suddenly went off, and he hasn't heard from his wife since. He said he didn't know what happened to her and his daughters until videos of their captivity surfaced.
The video shows Arthur's wife and children sitting behind a truck surrounded by armed men. In the footage, one of the militants is seen wearing a hood over Arthur's wife's head.
"I couldn't believe this was happening to me," Arthur said. "It's a nightmare."
Israeli officials say militants have gone door-to-door in dozens of towns in southern Israel, breaking down doors, killing people and taking people hostage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared war on Hamas and vowed to avenge the Hamas attack, which had killed more than 900 people and injured another 2,500 in Israel as of Monday.
At least 560 people have been killed and 2,900 wounded in Israeli retaliatory airstrikes on the Gaza Strip since Saturday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Monday.
