Girl with autism for whom JK Rowling called for her release is found dead cuddled up to her grandmother
Noya, 12, was a Harry Potter fan and the Hamas attack on her family mobilized the writer of the book series; the bodies of her and Carmella Dann, 80, were in the shelter of the house where they lived, near the border with Gaza
Carmella Dann, 80 year old, and her granddaughter Noya, 12 year old, were until a few hours later on the list of missing persons after the Hamas attacks in Israel on October 7. Although they were believed to have been kidnapped, on Wednesday they were found dead, hugging each other, in the shelter of their home in the kibbutz of Nir Oz, on the border with Gaza.
Carmella and Noya’s relatives, like many others with loved ones missing after the terrorist attack, believed that they had been taken hostage, so they spread publications explaining that the girl had autism, and described her as an “intelligent, loving and beautiful” girl and her early release was requested.
The whereabouts and release of her grandmother, her brothers Sahar, 16, and Erez, 12, and her father, Offer, were also demanded.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling joined the request, as the girl was a fan of the saga, as can be seen in a photograph released by the Israeli government in which she was seen dressed as the young wizard, holding a book and a magic wand.
“The kidnapping of children is a despicable and completely unjustifiable act. For obvious reasons, this photo shocked me,” Rowling wrote three days ago on X (formerly Twitter), calling for the girl’s release.
However, the bodies of the grandmother and granddaughter, hugging, were found by the Israeli army after they once again searched the houses of Nir Oz. The location was attacked by Hamas terrorists.
“We are devastated to announce that the bodies of Noya and her grandmother Carmela were discovered yesterday [Wednesday]. Thank you to everyone who shared their story to help us bring her home,” the Israeli forces said.
For its part, the official profile of the State of Israel, as well as its embassies around the world, reported: “Our hearts are broken”.
The number of people believed to have been kidnapped by the Hamas movement during its recent attacks in Israel has risen to 203, the Israeli army said today, having previously reported 199 hostages.
“At this moment, we have notified the families of 203 kidnapped people,” said Israeli military spokesman General Daniel Hagari, Sputnik news agency reported.
According to relatives, as of Wednesday, eight Argentinian citizens had died as a result of the Hamas attack, while 14 compatriots are still missing.
On October 7, Hamas launched thousands of rockets from the Gaza Strip in an unprecedented attack and carried out an armed incursion into Israel’s southern border areas, prompting Israel to declare itself “at war”.
More than 1,400 people were killed in Israel in the Hamas attacks and around 4,600 were injured, most of them civilians.
Meanwhile, some 3,785 Palestinians have been killed in bombardments launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip in response to Hamas attacks and almost 12,500 have been injured, officials said today. The Hamas Health Ministry in Gaza released the new casualty figures in a statement, after reporting yesterday that the dead had risen to more than 3,300 and the wounded to more than 12,000.