Survivor from Tanzania in Israel speaks out: Lucky shift change saved my life, but my friends remain hostages of Hamas

Ezekiel Kitiku, a Tanzanian agricultural intern in Israel, narrowly escaped being taken hostage in the Gaza Strip by Hamas militants. Kitiku, along with his friends Joshua Loitu Mollel and Clemence Felix Mtenga, had been working on different farms near the Gaza border. On the day of the attack, Kitiku went to work on the nightshift and heard explosions from the rockets fired by Hamas. He immediately contacted his friends, but little did he know that they had already been taken hostage. Kitiku was unable to return to his kibbutz and was escorted to another location by the Israeli Defense Forces. He later found out that his friends were being held hostage in Gaza. Kitiku is grateful to learn that they are alive but remains worried about their conditions. He is now working at a different farm and is unsure about returning home until he knows the situation of his friends in Gaza.