Eli Albag, the father of IDF lookout Liri Albag, who was abducted from the Nahal Oz outpost on October 7 and later freed in a hostage deal, revealed Sunday in a wide ranging interview on Radio 103FM the secret and desperate efforts he undertook on his own to try to save his daughter during her captivity. Albag said he reached out to a range of contacts, including individuals identified with the Palestinian Authority, in an effort to track his daughter's physical and mental condition while she was held in tunnels and in the homes of Hamas operatives inside Gaza.
"I was even in contact with the bad guys," Albag admitted candidly. "I got to the bad guys inside the Palestinian Authority too. These are requests made through lawyers, what we call lawyers, for a scrap of information, for them to look after the hostages we knew were held together. They were very careful. But one day they gave me a piece of information, and when Liri came home, I understood they had known."
The information Albag received from those Palestinian contacts turned out to be entirely accurate only after his daughter's return from captivity. "They told me, 'She's fine, she was only hurt on her fingernail,'" he recounted. "I didn't believe it. When she came back she said, 'Yes, I hurt my fingernail.' The whole time I didn't believe it, and I still don't. You're inside this world where there are a lot of people who want to help, some of them want money."
Albag made clear the family was willing to do whatever it took, without official boundaries. "In the middle of this war, there is nothing you don't grab onto," he said. "I told myself, I will turn over every stone, we as a family will turn over every stone to bring Liri home, and we did not shy away from any means. I'm glad about it, I don't regret it for a second."
The efforts also included attempts that did not succeed, such as trying to obtain a foreign passport by paying businessman Zvika Naveh. The money was eventually returned to the family, but the attempt reflects the desperation and willingness to try any possible avenue.
Alongside the disclosure about his private efforts, Albag chose to direct sharp criticism at Israel's current political leadership. He addressed comments he had heard from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich regarding his role in the hostages' return, noting that the reality on the ground was entirely different from politicians' declarations.
"While Liri was a hostage, I would meet with every decision maker, including Knesset members, and I said, 'Stop this violent discourse, this incitement. I want to vomit already. I want a new leadership already,'" Albag shared, describing his difficult feelings.
Albag warned of the tense social climate in Israel and placed the blame squarely on the prime minister. "We are on the verge of a civil war. Prime Minister Netanyahu isn't stepping in and isn't stopping it. It apparently benefits him, all this division," he said.
His criticism grew especially sharp when asked about the government's conduct regarding the events of October 7 and the absence of a state commission of inquiry. Albag placed primary responsibility directly on Netanyahu. "A lot of cemetery plots here will be registered under Bibi Netanyahu's name. That's the reality. In what era were 1,200 of our people murdered, burned, raped, slaughtered in a single day? And now they'll say he's not responsible? He is responsible, the chief of staff is responsible, the intelligence is responsible, the Shin Bet chief is responsible. Meanwhile everyone has left except one."
On the question of establishing a commission of inquiry, Albag was blunt. "On day one I laughed when they said 'there will be a commission of inquiry, there will be a commission of inquiry.' I said from day one there will be no commission of inquiry as long as Bibi is prime minister. If there is one, they'll start investigating Pharaoh and Moses, asking why they brought us to the land of Israel, that's where they'll start."
Closing his remarks, Albag laid out his vision for who should lead the next government, naming former cabinet minister and former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot as his preferred candidate. "Gadi Eisenkot is a worthy man, he was with us during the difficult hours," he explained. "A clean man who sees only the Land of Israel in front of him. In the end we are all temporary, and the State of Israel will remain forever, and we need to know what we're leaving behind and how. We need a change."
Albag compared running the country to running a private business. "There's no way a CEO who destroyed my company stays at the company for even one more day. There's no such thing, not in the business world and not in politics."
Liri Albag was freed from captivity after 477 harrowing days, and recently decided to return to serve in the IDF in a significant role, as previously reported.
