Families of hostages held in Gaza speak of their pain

Some of the relatives of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip spoke of their ordeal during a House Republican news conference on Tuesday.

Hamas dead more than 1,400 Israelis and kidnapped more than 200 civilians in terrorist attacks against Israel on October 7. Some of the hostages’ relatives united Speaker Mike Johnson and other House Republicans on Tuesday shared their stories of grief and called for immediate action.

“This is a battle between light and darkness, between good and evil. As our dear friend and ally Israel fights for its survival against the Iranian-backed terrorists of Hamas, we will continue to defend human dignity and provide moral clarity,” Johnson said. “I am honored to introduce these families to you today “.

“On October 7, my life stopped when my two younger brothers were kidnapped,” said a man who was in Israel at the time of the Hamas attacks.

“We’re begging you, the world, to help us, to talk to Hamas. We have no idea what happened to them; we just know they’re in Gaza. We don’t know if they’re injured, if they’re together, if they’re still alive . For 31 days, for a whole month, my community was massacred,” he said. “We’ve been to more funerals in one week than I’ve been to in my entire life… We need action. We need action now.”

The Biden administration has been working with Israel and Qatar, the latter of which has been facilitating negotiations with Hamas, to secure the release of the hostages. Hamas released two hostages on October 20, then released two more on October 23; Israel separately rescued a hostage on October 30 seconds in The Associated Press. The vast majority of hostages and their current conditions remain missing.

“This is a call to action,” said an Israeli resident standing next to his brother, whose brother was kidnapped by Hamas. “I want to thank everyone here for having us, the American government for helping us, but that’s not enough: we need help now.”

“Every day is like an eternity for me, and I can’t wait any longer,” said the Israeli-American mother of a 26-year-old hostage. “I need your help.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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