A devastated Israeli mother whose two children are being held hostage by Hamas has slammed British police for removing posters of her missing loved ones.
Hadas Kalderon, 56, has been wracked with unimaginable worry since her 16-year-old daughter Sahar and 11-year-old son Erez were snatched by terrorists in the October 7 attacks on Israel.
She has also suffered the grief of losing her 79-year-old mother Carmela Dan and her 12-year-old niece Noya Dan who were brutally killed in the atrocities committed by Hamas when gunmen raided the Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Posters of missing Israeli men, women and children taken by Hamas have been put up in UK cities to highlight the plight of innocent people caught up in the conflict.
But seeing posters of her own children being removed by police Ms Kalderon said officers had “forgotten what it is like to be human”.
She told The Sun: “Those taking the posters down show that there is more dark than there is light. These people do not understand the situation.
“Tomorrow it could happen to them. It could happen to anyone, anywhere.”
Hadas – whose ex-husband Ofer Kalderon, 50, is also being held hostage – said her son Erez would have celebrated his 12th birthday on October 26 in hellish captivity.
The Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police have both faced criticism after officers were seen taking down posters of Israelis taken hostage by Hamas.
But Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “Those officers that get this public attention because they’re sensibly taking a Palestinian flag from a Jewish memorial or taking some of those Jewish appeal posters off a shop which is linked to people who are pro-Palestinian, those officers are going out doing practical things to try and reduce tension.
“And the world is leaping on top of them and in anger and outrage. That is not going to help us police London successfully.
“We need to come together in this difficult moment, regardless of different opinions rather than having this determination to stoke tension.”
