Alex Trelinski
THE NAMES of two Spaniards who went missing after Hamas’ weekend air and ground attack in Israel have been revealed.
One is a teenage soldier who may been kidnapped by a Hamas militia, and the other is a man from the Basque Country who lives with his wife on a kibbutz close to the Gaza strip.
Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was ‘aware’ of the situation and is trying to locate them,
Maya Villalobo Sinvany, 19, has dual Spanish and Israeli nationality, and was in Israel because she had to do a stint of compulsory national service.
She was at the Nahal Oz base close to the border with Gaza, with sources suggesting that she was kidnapped by Hamas militias to be potentially used in a hostage exchange.
Her father- Eduardo Villalobo- lives in Sevilla and is a professor at the city’s university.
He got in touch with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday because he was unable to contact Maya.
The other missing Spaniard is Ivan Illarramendi Saizar, 46, who hails from the Basque Country town of Zarautz.
He was been living in Israel with his wife on a kibbutz, and they tried to get into a safe room when they Hamas terrorists entered their house, which was just two kilometres from the Gaza Strip.
Spain’s Foreign Affairs minister Jose Manuel Albares confirmed on Monday that there are two Spaniards who ‘suffered the attack of Gaza on Israel’.
He offered little further information except to say that he was in contact with their families and trying to help ‘as much as possible’.
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