Current sectionIsrael NewsShare to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribe"Omar," a Sudanese asylum seeker. Within two days, tens of thousands of dollars were collected to free members of his family, who were abducted on the Sudan-Egypt border. Credit: Moti Milrod / Rebecca Murray/Mcclatchy / TNS/ZUMA Wire / via Reuters Connect / Artwork by Masha Zur-GlozmanYears after fleeing war, persecution and torture, asylum seekers from Eritrea and Sudan are being contacted by African gangs who have abducted their relatives – and often demand an exorbitant ransom for their release12:38 AM • August 14 2026 IDTTwo months ago, a phone call abruptly hurled Helen (not her real name) 14 years back in time, to the hell she endured in torture camps in the Sinai Peninsula on her way to Israel. Since eventually making her way here from Eritrea, she has been trying hard to keep her head above water – doing cleaning work, raising three children (one of them a 7-year old autistic daughter) virtually on her own, and grappling with ever-present trauma.In the NewsThey Were Tortured en Route to Israel. Now the Nightmare Haunts a New GenerationIsrael's Top Court: Intel Supports Claim Gaza Hospital Director Was Hamas Member'Noo-noo' the Cicada Cousin in Amber Had a Bizarrely Long MouthAre Georgia's Jews Turning on Ossoff? An Open Letter Reignites the QuestionUNRWA Warns East Jerusalem Facilities Face 'Imminent Risk' After Israeli RaidsRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMI50 Years Ago, a Young Israeli Was Crowned the Most Beautiful Woman in the WorldIsrael's Leading Philosopher on Manipulation, Morality and the Future of ZionismWho Is Rebeca Grynspan, the Jewish Frontrunner to Become the Next UN Chief?Phones of Missing Israeli Mother, Daughter Last Traced Near Vienna Train StationIsrael Elections: How to Actually Read the PollsU.S. University to Pay Israeli Scholar Who Lost Job for Calling Gaza a Genocide