Hostage brother's heartbreaking revelation: "We have no idea if Hamas killed my brother"

Roei Baruch, brother of Uriel Baruch, appeared on Kikar Shabbat’s studio.

Intelligence suggests Uriel was killed by Hamas, and that they are still holding his body held in Gaza

During the interview, Roei recounting the harrowing moments of Simchat Torah, the devastating news, his meeting with Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, visits to leading rabbis, and the struggle to return the hostages’ bodies.

Recalling Simchat Torah, Roei said: “I was in synagogue, dancing with the Torah scrolls during hakafot. We heard sirens, entered the bomb shelter, then continued dancing. Around 10:30, I finished praying and returned home.” Only then did he grasp the severity: “My neighbor called me, saying there was a Facebook post with Uriel’s picture, listing him as missing. She mentioned an event in the south with 70-80 dead.”

Uriel’s wife urgently summoned Roei. “When I arrived, we set up a command center and began operations. Army friends tracked Uriel’s phone.” He shared a chilling detail: “At 6:30 a.m., when rockets started, Uriel was with his friend Michael Yoav. Michael called his wife, saying they were heading to Jerusalem due to rockets and police evacuations. At 6:45, he called again, saying, ‘There are terrorists shooting at cars.’ You hear Michael yell, ‘Uriel, hit the gas!’ Then the call cuts off.”

Fifteen minutes later, Uriel’s wife called his phone, and a Nukhba terrorist answered, shouting “Allahu Akbar” before hanging up. Contact was lost. For three weeks, Uriel was listed as missing until the family was informed he was taken to Gaza.

“We were in total uncertainty,” Roei said. “When they told us he was a hostage, we felt immense joy as a family. We were thrilled, even elated, because until then, he was missing, and every day they found more dead. Knowing he was a hostage gave us hope.”

Six months later, intelligence indicated Uriel was likely wounded in Israel and died in Gaza. “The likelihood is very high he was murdered,” Roei shared painfully.

On the hostage release efforts, Roei, a member of both the Hostage Families Forum and the Tikvah Forum, said: “Thank God, we’re connected to all the families: a big family from all backgrounds, opinions, and sectors.” He pursues a path aligned with his family’s values: “I support returning all 59 hostages at once in a single deal or phase. I demand an agreement listing all 59 names.”

Roei called for maximum pressure on Hamas: “Cut off electricity, water, communications, annex territories, impose a siege, and start the transfer Trump spoke of, a correct idea.”

Addressing meetings with leading rabbis, Roei countered the notion that the Haredi community is uninvolved: “I believe the Haredi community is deeply engaged, in its own way. I don’t think they need to attend protests, and I don’t go to rallies myself. Everyone contributes what they can.”

He recounted meeting Rabbi Baruch Dov Povarsky of Ponevezh Yeshiva: “I saw a nearly 100-year-old man crying over every hostage’s picture. He demanded to keep the photos in his bedroom, removed his mattress and pillows, and has slept without them since October 7. It’s extraordinary.”

Roei appealed to the Haredi community: “Please mention the hostages in prayers, list their names with their mothers’ names. My brother is Uriel Baruch ben Naomi. May he return from Gaza to Israel. Keep all hostages in your prayers and Torah study, don’t let it fade. This is what matters most. Only God can help us, and His salvation comes in an instant. We need your prayers.”