Meanwhile, Ben Zvi’s daughter wrote that Pacheco had looked after her father with “quiet, admirable devotion, always attentive to his needs and supportive in countless ways.”
Pacheco was finally released on November 24 2023, after 49 days in captivity, along with 10 Thai hostages.
Speaking after his release, Pacheco – who was kidnapped with fellow Nir Oz residents Yarden Bibas and Ofer Calderon – revealed: "For two weeks I was in a small room with Yarden and Ofer... A special bond developed between us. When I cried, they took care of me and told me that the Israeli government was helping. We sang together, we laughed, and I even taught Yarden to speak Filipino."
In a separate interview he shared: “When they took me, I never expected they’d bring me back alive... When I first saw the sunlight and came out from the tunnel, I just knelt. I thanked the Lord because I saw the sun again and breathed fresh air.”
Israela is the Pacheco’s fourth child, joining two older brothers and a sister.
