Israelis grapple with how to celebrate Passover while many remain captive

Chairs are set for missing members of the Bibas family who are held hostage in Gaza at a Passover Seder table April 11, 2024, at Israel's Kibbutz Nir Oz, where a quarter of all residents were killed or captured by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Shlomi Berger sits in his daughter's bedroom in Holon, Israel, April 17, 2024. Osnat Peri, right, whose husband, Haim, is in Hamas captivity, takes part in a Passover Seder commemoration with relatives of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, at the communal dining room at Kibbutz Nir Oz in Israel, April 11, 2024.

Every year, Alon Gat's mother led the family's Passover celebration of the liberation of the ancient Israelites from Egypt thousands of years ago. But this year, Gat is struggling with how to reconcile a holiday commemorating freedom after his mother was slain and other family members abducted when Hamas attacked Israel.