They will not be forgotten.
Six months since the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks in Israel, scores of hostages whom Hamas militants abducted that day remain captive in Gaza — and New Yorkers rallied on Sunday demanding their immediate freedom amid the bloody war.
More than a thousand people — many of them waving the blue-and-white Israel flag and wearing hats reading “Bring Them Home Now” — gathered steps away from the United Nations at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, at 47th Street and 2nd Avenue, for the April 7 rally that the Anti-Defamation League hosted.
Hamas’ sudden incursion into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 in a surprise attack left more than 1,500 people dead, and hundreds of others taken hostage. Soon after, Israel launched a war that led to her invasion of Gaza in a joint effort to free the hostages and eliminate the terrorists who carried out the attack and continue to threaten the country’s existence.
While some hostages wound up being killed during captivity, scores of others were freed last November through negotiations. As of April 7, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, at least 111 hostages remain in Hamas’ clutches six months after the attack — their fate and condition unknown.
Meanwhile, the war in Gaza — a Palestinian enclave run by Hamas that is about twice the size of Washington, DC (140.9 square miles) and home to more than 2 million people — has wrought one of the worst humanitarian crises of the 21st century.
While the reported death toll of over 30,000 people has been disputed, a UN-backed report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification indicated that more than half the Gaza population is facing famine while supply lines have been either cut off or destroyed. Israel has agreed to increase humanitarian aid into Gaza at the U.S.’ urging.
The crowd packed along 47th Street heard from members of hostages’ families and even previously-released hostages who appealed for the last remaining individuals held captive in Gaza to be set free.
Luis Har, a former hostage, offered testimony of his ordeal through remarks delivered on his behalf by his son-in-law at Sunday’s rally.
“Six months ago, I was brutally taken out of my house with my family,” Har recalled. “I will never forget the hate on the faces of the Hamas terrorists who broke into our house, breaking everything in their way, shooting inside our house, screaming, threatening us.”
The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) rescued Har after spending 129 days in captivity.
“All 133 hostages that are still in Gaza must come back home,” Har appealed on Sunday. “I can’t start my healing process until everybody is back home. None of us can.”
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son Hersh remains in captivity to this day, stressed it was critical for the world to know who the hostages are, and that they come from diverse backgrounds. But she also spoke of the pain of having to go about daily life without knowing about her son’s safety.
“We do an injustice when we erase these people when we are talking about who is still being held hostage,” Goldberg-Polin told the crowd, fighting back tears. “Many of you have heard me say before that every morning I put on my costume and pretend to be human. Today my costume didn’t work. Today I’m just too broken, today I just can’t.”
Two local elected officials also spoke out in support of the hostages while demanding their immediate release.
Congress Member Dan Goldman (D-Brooklyn/Manhattan) stressed that the Oct. 7 attacks and the ongoing hostage crisis reflect “not just an attack on Jews or Israel,” but also “an attack on the rest of the world and on a democratic way of life.”
“We all want this conflict to end. We want the violence to stop. We want the suffering to end,” Goldman said. “Two simple things will do just that: Free the hostages ,and for Hamas to lay down their arms and relinquish control of the Gaza Strip.”
While noting that others have called for an immediate ceasefire to the war, Goldman resolved that “there can be no ceasefire agreement of any kind if Hamas is not a party to that agreement.”
“And if you are calling for a ceasefire, then you must call on Hamas to release the hostages,” he added. “That is the only way there will be a ceasefire.”
Goldman’s colleague, Congress Member Jerry Nadler (D-Manhattan), said, “We must not forget those who are being held. We must not forget their names.” But the crowd soured when he mentioned a call for humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“We must continue to push the life-saving humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, because we are better than Hamas,” he said, prompting some jeers from the attendees. As some shouted at him, Nadler quickly ended his remarks by quoting the book of Exodus, “Send forth my people, bring them home,” before departing the stage.
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