Israeli Filmmaker Tom Shoval Voices Fears For Friend Held In Gaza & Appeals For All Avenues To Be Explored: “I Don’t Need Sides, Right Or Wrong, I Need Action”
29.10.2023 - 17:11
/ deadline.com
Israeli filmmaker Tom Shoval has expressed his growing fears for Gaza hostage, former actor and friend David Cunio and called on the Israeli government to explore all possible ways, including a ceasefire, to secure his release and that of all the hostages.
Cunio, his wife, three kindergarten-age children, sister-in-law and her young daughter were among more than 200 people abducted by Hamas, during its brutal terror attack on Southern Israel on October 7, which killed 1,300 people.
“I try to think from which sense I need to talk. Should I be careful or brave, frontal or complex. What angle will serve the cause that is what I need right now? In the midst of disaster, I don’t need sides, right or wrong, I need action,” Shoval wrote to Deadline in a heartfelt message.
“Therefore, I will write as a human being, plain and simple, who is in the midst of a war zone after the horrific criminal attack of the 7th of October, who sees destruction and death in an unending cycle of violence. That’s why I have to talk about what’s close, the ones that were taken, my friend, his family,” he continued.
“I want to shout for him, to be a voice that is clear: release the hostages, their lives are at stake. I think that it is the responsibility of the Israeli government to its citizens to bring these hostages back as fast as possible at any cost.”
Shoval’s appeal came as Israel stepped up its military campaign in the Gaza Strip over the weekend, with Israeli soldiers entering the Palestinian territory exactly three weeks after the Hamas atrocities on the southern part of the country.
Friends and families of the hostages have raised concerns about the operation, fearing it will put their loved ones in more danger. Prime Minister Benjamin