"I'd even cooperate with Sinwar if that would bring my brother back."

Selfie of a couple at the beach. They wear sunglasses. — They are painfully missing: Or and Eynav Elkayam Levy were at the Nova Festival in southern Israel on 7 October. Einav was murdered in the Hamas raid, Or was kidnapped. His brother Michael is still fighting for a hostage deal and Or's release. Photo: picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS | Uncredited

Or Levy was abducted by Hamas from the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023. In this interview, his brother Michael discusses his family’s experience over the last twelve months, his hopes and fears for the future, and the ongoing campaign to free Or from captivity.

Interview by Judith Poppe

One year ago, your brother Or Levy was abducted at the Nova Festival. Or's wife Einav was killed in front of him by a Hamas grenade. How has your life changed since that day?

Ever since then, I feel like I'm living someone else's life. I sometimes look in the mirror and don't recognise myself. My whole life has changed completely. I used to be a manager at an international company, but I haven't worked since 7 October. I fight around the clock, every day of the week, to free my brother from the hands of Hamas. Until a year ago, I avoided speaking in public. Now, I have met so many heads of state —prime ministers, presidents and foreign ministers, even the Pope—that I can no longer remember them all. I do everything I can to press government representatives for a deal and to ensure that the events [of 7 Oct] are not forgotten.

I give interviews all the time, even on Al Jazeera, who are not big fans of Israel. We know from released or freed hostages that hostages have sometimes heard the news in Gaza, that they have been able to catch a few pictures here and there. This is my way of getting through to Or, to show him that we are all fighting and will not give up. Sometimes I also address him directly through the camera or on the radio and hope that he sees it.

Michael Levy at an event for the hostages, that are still held in Gaza by Hamas. — Michael Levy, 41, lives in Ganei Tikva in central Israel. Until October 7, 2023, he worked as a manager in an international company. Photo: Private

Or's son Almog turned three last year. Since 7 October he’s been living with his grandparents. Does he understand what's going on?

I'm not sure what he understands, but I know he misses them. In the weeks and months after 7 October, he always asked about them and cried. Today he still talks about them sometimes, but I'm not sure how much he remembers. He has lived almost a third of his life without his parents. When we show him pictures of his father, he sometimes thinks it's me. But a few weeks ago, my other brother went to the beach with Almog, just like Or and Einav often did with him before 7 October. And suddenly, when he saw the beach, he asked: “Do you think dad is really coming back?” For us, that was a sign that he remembers those days.

Are you sure Or is still alive?

I know that he was kidnapped alive and that he was not injured. We have a video of it and the army assumes that he is alive. So we have no reason to believe otherwise. I want to say that I feel it, but sometimes I wonder if I'm imagining it, if it's real. I try to talk to him and send him strength.

You've been travelling internationally a lot since then. What does that do to your own family?

If you add it up, I was probably travelling in other countries for half the year. There is often a time difference, which makes it difficult to speak to my family on the phone. And it often makes my daughters even sadder when we speak on the phone while I'm travelling. They are still young, the eldest is ten, the twin sisters are 7. They all have their own problems and need me. But even when I'm here, I'm physically present, but my head is somewhere else. I try to be as present as I can, but it's hard.

You've been travelling a lot recently, including in the USA. Do you think that the USA will apply enough pressure on Netanyahu to finally get a hostage deal through?

I think this question reflects to some extent the problem that I see within the international community. Because Israel, the Israeli government and Prime minister Netanyahu are already receiving all the pressure. They should receive pressure, they also receive it from us, the family members of the hostages. But there is one very important thing that the international community is forgetting: the other side. As long as we assume that Hamas will simply agree to any deal that is on the table, nothing will change.

The fact that the international community is not exerting much pressure on Hamas is certainly also due to the fact that it cannot talk to Hamas directly, but only through intermediaries. In my opinion, these intermediaries, especially Qatar, are playing a double game. They talk to the Western world and finance Hamas. They allow the Hamas leadership to live in Doha like kings. They can't really be honest mediators—but that's what we have and that's what we have to deal with.

In my view, the pressure on Qatar should be increased considerably. But Qatar plays a huge role in the international financial world. They finance some of the largest universities in the USA, they own football teams, in Germany they own 17 per cent of Volkswagen. I think that's why the international community is afraid of putting pressure on Qatar. But that's exactly what should happen.

It's all politics, but for me, it's not really about that at all; it's about my little brother, who I want to bring back home.

That's why you demonstrate every week, including against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Well, there are two different demonstrations taking place: those of family members and those of government opponents. Most family members are not against the government and not against Netanyahu. Honestly, I would cooperate with anyone willing to bring my brother back. I would even cooperate with Sinwar if that would bring my brother back. You know, regardless of my political views and those of the other hostage families, we don't have time to wait for a new government. We have to get them back now.

A small room with two windows. Underneath stand a bed, covered by a plastic protective cover. — The couple's bed in Givatayim, Israel, bears witness to the void that Hamas' crimes have left in the lives of many Israelis. picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS | Oded Balilty

The situation is escalating across the region, in particular in Lebanon. Israel has orchestrated attacks through pagers used by Hezbollah, they have killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and now launched a ground invasion in the south of Lebanon. Does this escalation worry you?

I was happy to hear that the terrorist organisation Hezbollah, which is trying to eliminate Israel, is being badly beaten and is getting weaker by the second. On the other hand, I think this is only the first stage. Stage two should be a diplomatic solution that will solve the whole problem in the Middle East. But any solution in the Middle East can only start when the hostages are back. The international community must also understand this. This war will not end until the hostages are back home.

What will you do on the anniversary of 7 October?

I am aware of the symbolic date. And I'm glad that the media's interest in the hostages is flaring up again. That was very different a month or two ago. But at the same time, 7 October is just another day of fighting for me. And in fact, it doesn’t feel as if a year has passed, because for me this year feels like a very, very long and very terrible day.

The interview is also published in Arabic. What is your message to the Arabic readers of this interview?

I don't hate anyone. I don't want anyone to suffer. I hate to see people suffering in Gaza or Lebanon or Israel or anywhere else in the world. I want my girls to grow up in peace. I want the war to end. But we also have to understand that the perpetrators are organisations like Hamas and Hezbollah, which in turn are backed by Iran. And as long as people don't fight back and as long as there are hostages in Gaza, nothing will change. Not for us as Israelis and not for the Arab countries, because we will all suffer.