The parents of the American hostages who have been held by Hamas for nearly 420 days are once again pleading with the U.S. and Israeli officials to show a sense of “urgency” in securing their freedom.
Seven of the 101 hostages held in Gaza are American, and their families, who will once again sit through another Thanksgiving dinner with an empty seat on Thursday, are again urging that their release be prioritized.
“Our plea is that this is urgent, and I’m not sure we’re seeing the sense of urgency,” Orna Neutra, mother of Omer Neutra, who was 21 years old when he was abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, but who has since experienced two birthdays while in captivity, told Fox News Digital.
“There were security issues that needed to be dealt with in the north, with Hezbollah, with Iran. But at this point, the hostages – which are a primary war goal for the Israelis – should be the first priority, and everything possible should be done to get them out,” she continued. “It’s been very frustrating for us to follow this news cycle to make sure that they’re not forgotten, to wait patiently, constantly, until other goals are achieved.”
Ronen and Orna Neutra, parents of U.S.-Israeli citizen Omer Neutra held hostage in Gaza since the October 7 attack by Hamas, look on as the Israeli-American Council (IAC) hosts an event to launch “Hostage Square Chicago,” an exhibit featuring artworks by Israeli and American artists dedicated to the memory of the victims of October 7, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Chicago, Illinois, August 20, 2024. (Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)
AMERICAN FATHER OF HAMAS HOSTAGE ITAY CHEN PUSHES US, ISRAEL ON ‘PLAN B’ AS NEGOTIATIONS FALTER
Orna, her husband Ronen Neutra, along with the families of other hostages still in Gaza have begun to question Netanyahu’s strategy for returning the hostages.
The Israeli prime minister has seen an increasing push at home and abroad by those calling on him to establish a cease-fire with Hamas and secure the hostages’ release.
Cease-fire negotiations have all but collapsed. And although the Biden administration continues to push all sides to the table to end the war and secure the release of the hostages, Israel’s military campaign to defeat Hamas continues.
“It’s extremely . . . painful for us to see how the time is going by, and our son is held in those terrible conditions trying to survive,” Omer’s father Ronen said. “The question is, what are we going to gain from a few more months of waiting with these conditions?”
An Israeli soldier secures a tunnel underneath Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, amid the ongoing ground operation of the Israeli army against Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in the northern Gaza Strip, November 22, 2023. Reuters/Ronen Zvulun (Reuters/Ronen Zvulun)
Ultimately, as Omer’s parents highlighted, while IDF operations continue in Gaza the hostages remain in danger.
“We saw what happened in late August, when the IDF was getting too close to the hostages, the terrorists got instructions to execute them,” Orna said. “We saw six hostages executed in one day, one of them, American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. And the conditions that they were held in and the state in which they were retrieved – they were emaciated, they were dehydrated, it doesn’t leave a lot of room for imagination.
“They are in horrible conditions, and they need to be taken out as soon as possible,” she added.
Materials found in the tunnel where the IDF recovered the bodies of six deceased hostages. (Courtesy of the Israeli Defense Forces)
Netanyahu has said his two primary goals in the Gaza campaign are the destruction of Hamas and securing the return of the hostages.
But following the October death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar – a major war aim for Netanyahu – military operations did not cease, nor were ceasefire negotiations fervently pursued by Israel or Hamas.
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It is not only the continued military operations in Gaza that have begun to frustrate the families of the hostages, but also Israel’s increased attention in Lebanon, which has left many feeling that the hostages had been “sidelined.”
An Israeli couple holding their national flag walk in front of graffiti calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip since the October 7 attack by Hamas militants in southern Israel, in Jerusalem on November 18, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (GIL Cohen-Magen/AFP via Getty Images)
Israel and Lebanon on Wednesday entered into a cease-fire just two months after Jerusalem began its operations to oust Hezbollah, a move that will allow citizens in both countries to begin returning to their homes near the shared border. But despite nearly a year’s effort, no such deal has been secured in Gaza.
“I am a bit disappointed that there is no connection between the Lebanon peace and the Gaza peace,” Ruby Chen, father of Itay Chen, who was 19 and serving in the IDF when he was attacked and taken by Hamas terrorists, told Fox News Digital. “In Gaza, there are people, U.S. citizens, that are at risk and should come out.
“But let’s have hope that this will bring Israel into focus on this peace for the hostages, as well as the other international players that are doing the hostage deal,” he added.
These are the American hostages who were taken by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, and held in Gaza. Only Hersh Goldberg-Polin (left) has been returned to Israel after the IDF found him and other hostages killed by terrorists. Pictured next to Hersh are Itay Chen, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Edan Alexander, Omer Neutra, Gadi Haggai and Judi Weinstein Haggai and Keith Siegel. (Fox News Photo)
In an address on Wednesday, Biden championed the Israel-Lebanon cease-fire but said, “Now Hamas has a choice to make. Their only way out is to release the hostages, including American citizens which they hold, and, in the process, bring an end to the fighting, which would make possible a surge of humanitarian relief.
“Over the coming days, the United States will make another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza with the hostages released and the end to the war without Hamas in power,” he added.
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Many hold out hope that even if the Biden administration cannot secure the release of the hostages before he leaves office in January, that the incoming Trump administration may bring a change to the negotiations and secure the hostages’ release.
President-elect Donald Trump said from the campaign trail, “We want our hostages back, and they better be back before I assume office, or you will be paying a very big price.”
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/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Trump has not detailed steps he would take to secure the hostages’ release from the terrorist network, though on Tuesday he signed a memorandum of understanding that should enable him to begin accessing intelligence regarding the hostages – a process that traditionally happens weeks prior to when Trump signed the document.
While some Republicans, including those whom Trump has tapped for top jobs in his administration, like Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, have been in communication with the hostage families, the president-elect has not yet made contact with them, according to the parents of Omer and Itay.
Fox News Digital could not immediately reach Trump’s transition team to verify when the president-elect intends to reach out to the families and start on securing the hostages’ release.
Itay Chen, a 19-year-old U.S.-Israeli citizen, was on active duty in a tank unit on Oct. 7. (Hostage Family Forum)
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The parents of Omer and Itay have said they will continue to make sure that neither everyday citizens nor world leaders forget their children who are still held hostage.
“I have my empty seat again this Thanksgiving,” Ruby said in reference to where his son Itay should sit. “We would hope that U.S. citizens that understand the tragedy of having an empty chair at the table would adopt that as well.
“We have Christmas [and Hanukkah] coming up, hopefully we will have our Christmas miracle as well, and we’ll be able to be united as family again and bring him home,” Ruby added.
The other American hostages still being held in Gaza include Edan Alexander, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Gadi Haggai, Judi Weinstein Haggai and Keith Siegel.