Family of US hostage Omer Neutra holds out hope after Hamas kidnapping
For weeks and weeks now, the families of six American hostages held in Gaza have endured unspeakable agony. The families have a message to negotiators working on a possible hostage deal.
They say "there is just too much suffering, too much angst, too much agony." That was a statement from Rachel Goldberg, whose son Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a U.S. citizen, is still being held captive in Gaza.
"There are hundreds of thousands of innocent Gazans who are also suffering. You have an abyss of misery over here. And I think everyone with any leadership role at all must step forward and say, 'it's enough. It's enough now,'" she said this month.
There are at least five other U.S. citizens who are held by Hamas in Gaza after they were kidnapped near a music festival on Oct. 7. They are Edan Alexander, Itay Chen, Omer Neutra, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Keith Siegel.
Orna Neutra and Ronen Neutra — the parents of Omer — are trying to keep his name alive, hoping for his safe release.
SEE MORE: In building Gaza's new port, US forces face varied threats
President Joe Biden announced Thursday that U.S. troops will build a temporary port off Gaza’s shore to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians, who are suffering from a shortage of food, water, and medicine.
The Pentagon in a Friday briefing was asked about Hamas firing on the operation.
"That's certainly a risk," said Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder. "But if Hamas truly does care about the Palestinian people, then again, one would hope that this international mission to deliver aid to people who need it would be able to happen unhindered."
