‘You have an obligation’: Israeli landlord demanded rent from woman abducted by Hamas, claims roommate

Israel-Hamas war updates: In a shocking turn of events, a landlord in Israel has allegedly demanded the roommate of a young Israeli woman kidnapped by Hamas fighters at a music festival near Gaza pay her half of the rent. Not only this, the landlord also threatened to throw out her belongings if he did not receive her half of the rent.

The woman, identified as 27-year-old Inbar Hyman, was among those who attended the Supernova music festival, where 260 people were killed after Hamas fighters launched their surprise attack on Israel. Many including Hyman who is currently in the final year of her visual communication program were also abducted from the festival.

Rather than showing empathy, the landlord of the apartment issued a warning that they might evict her and find a new tenant, an Israeli news outlet Walla News reported. The roommate Noam Allon said that he received a message on Tuesday saying the rest of the rent be paid.

Allon said that when he told the landlord the 27-year-old Hyman has been abducted by Hamas, the landlord allegedly said, “Look for replacements. You are not doing me a favour by living there.”

“Let it be clear to you: You have an obligation for the rent of 2,500 shekels [about $630 US]. You can talk to her parents about vacating the room,” the landlord reportedly added according to Walla News. The chat between Noam Allon and the landlord were published by Allon’s father Mordi Allon.

His father said, “Inbar is 27 years old. She and my son Noam have been together for two years. They study together and she is her fourth year of studying visual communication”. He further said that Inbar went to the party in Re’im with her friends and served as a helper for people feeling unwell.

He added that one of the Hamas fighters grabbed Hyman and threatened her with a knife according to eyewitness accounts. “One of the terrorists grabbed her and threatened her with a knife,” he said, citing the eyewitness accounts from young men who were with Hyman during the attack.

“One of the guys who was with her attacked the terrorist with a wooden board. They shouted at her to run and she froze and they kidnapped her with a motorcycle,” Allan added. “Her partner reached me and told me the landlord contacted him and asked what about the rent money. He wrote to him that Inbar was kidnapped and it just didn’t interest him,” Allon further noted.  He also said that the landlord threatened to leave Hyman’s belongings on the street and find someone else to take the room in her absence.

“I am 52 years old, in my life I never thought I would encounter such opacity,” he further said. The landlord, identified as Aaron Reiss, denied these allegations and said he made no demands for money, according to a report in Ynet news outlet.

He added that Inbar Hyman’s possessions haven’t been touched. “In essence, there is a whirlwind of shaming here. My tenant and the abducted woman do not owe me a shekel. How did it come to this whole situation? I don’t know. I didn’t ask for money—not from her family and certainly not from her,” Reiss said.

According to Reiss, “the partner took advantage of the situation because now he knew he would have to pay full rent”. He added that the contract was signed between the apartment owner and the partner.

"The partner raised the question, 'What do I do with her things? I can't rent the apartment to another partner like this.' He decided he didn't want to leave the apartment, but until this moment no one owes me money. I'm sorry for this shaming. In the end the truth will come out."

Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Sunday claimed that 330 Palestinians have been arrested ever since the Hamas group attacked southern Israel last weekend. Of these arrested Palestinians, 190 are associated with Hamas. The IDF also gave a three hour deadline to Gaza residents to evacuate and move southwards from northern Gaza.

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