Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed Monday that the U.S. “will continue to work tirelessly” in order house the 4 American hostages who’ve now been held by way of Hamas for greater than a yr within the Gaza Strip.
The 4 that stay — Keith Siegel, 65, Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, Omer Neutra, 22, and Edan Alexander, 21 — have been kidnapped by way of the Palestinian terrorist team precisely one yr in the past Monday on Oct. 7, 2023. The abductions took park along the homicide of roughly 1,200 Israelis.
“Hamas also took 254 people hostage that day, including 12 Americans. Four of those Americans – Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Itay Chen, Judy Weinstein, and Gad Haggai – were murdered by Hamas. Four were released through an agreement the United States negotiated last November, but four remain in captivity in Gaza: Edan Alexander, Keith Siegel, Sagui Dekel-Chen, and Omer Neutra,” Blinken mentioned in a commentary.
“There are also an estimated 97 other hostages who remain held in Gaza today. They include men, women, young boys, young girls, two babies, and elderly people from more than 25 nations,” Blinken added. “Hamas should release these hostages immediately. Every single one of them must be returned to their families, and the United States will continue to work tirelessly to bring them home.”
HAMAS LAUNCHES ROCKETS FROM GAZA ONE YEAR AFTER OCT. 7 ATTACKS, WHILE IDF STRIKES TERROR TARGETS
The American hostages nonetheless in Gaza, from left to proper: Sagui Dekel-Chen, Edan Alexander, Omer Neutra and Keith Siegel. (Hostage and Lacking Households Discussion board)
Blinken, who on Monday known as Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault on Israel the “largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” additionally mentioned “It is time to reach a ceasefire agreement that brings the hostages home, alleviates the suffering of the Israeli and Palestinian people, and ultimately brings an end to this war.”
The youngest of the hostages, 20-year-old Edan Alexander, graduated from Tenafly Top College in Pristine Jersey in 2022 sooner than volunteering to lend with the IDF.
“He was kidnapped Oct. 7th from his post, from the IDF post, and since then, we have no additional information about this abduction,” his father Adi has mentioned.
Adi and his spouse Yael wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times in September announcing that for loads of days “the world has failed our son and his fellow hostages: The Israeli government has abandoned them, too many countries have turned a blind eye, and while we’re grateful for the U.S. government’s steadfast support, its efforts have yet to yield results.
Surrounded by other family members of Americans who were taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel, Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of Sagui Dekel-Chen, and Ruby Chen, father of Itay Chen, speak to reporters after a meeting with President Biden at the White House on Dec. 13, 2023. (Julia Nikhinson/Washington Post via Getty Images)
US ON ALERT FOR POSSIBLE ‘VIOLENT EXTREMIST ACTIVITY’ ON AMERICANS ONE YEAR AFTER OCT. 7
Omer Neutra, 22, additionally volunteered to serve in the IDF, in keeping with his folks Orna and Ronen.
“He’s like an all-American child. He beloved sports activities. He used to be authorised to Binghamton College, however determined to defer this college. And he going to Israel on an opening yr, and he attached deeply with the rustic, along with his friends, and he determined to volunteer to the IDF, and he used to be taken from his publish,” his mom Orna has mentioned.
She not too long ago told the New York Post from her house in Plainview, Pristine York, “Our child is a bargaining chip on this geopolitical nightmare, and we, the households, we’re simply floating in this stream. We’re attempting to not sink.”
HEZBOLLAH ROCKET ATTACK ON ISRAEL HITS HAIFA FOR FIRST TIME
Ronen and Orna Neutra, parents of American hostage Omer Neutra, speak during a press conference by families of American hostages in Gaza and elected officials, on April 5 in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose 36-year-old son Sagui is still being held in Gaza following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, said in an interview with “Fox & Pals” in September, “It’s completely unclouded, the one approach to get hostages house alive is by way of some more or less negotiated oath with Devil.”
Dekel-Chen was abducted by Hamas in Kibbutz Nir Oz one year ago, according to the American Jewish Committee. The organization said he made sure his then-pregnant wife and his two daughters were safe in a shelter before confronting Hamas terrorists who had broken into his home.
Last November, Elan Siegel, the daughter of 65-year-old Keith Siegel, wrote in a column for Fox News Digital, “They compelled my folks, unassuming folk full of approval and a tranquility sensitivity, into my father’s automotive and took them to Gaza.”
Siegel’s wife Aviva later was released from captivity.
“It’s simply heartless to suppose that he’s in such unfortunate situations for goodbye,” Aviva Siegel not too long ago told the New York Post. “What they’re going thru is the most harsh factor on Earth.”
Keith Samuel Siegel, 64, extra hostage in Gaza by way of Hamas (Hostage and Lacking Households Discussion board)
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The our bodies of American citizens Itay Chen 19, Gadi Haggai, 73, and his spouse Judith Weinstein, 70, additionally stay held by way of Hamas in Gaza.
Fox Information’ Ashley Carnahan and Danielle Wallace contributed to this record.
