Hamas killed my parents 8 months ago. US and world leaders, help us bring them home.
Eight months – more than 250 days – and the international community has watched Hamas hold my parents' remains hostage while terrorism wins.
This time of year is filled with opportunities to express gratitude and love for parents – with Mother's Day in May, Father’s Day in June, and the United Nations-proclaimed Global Day of Parents on June 1. These holidays are about acknowledging the hard work and sacrifices parents make for their families, but for me and my three siblings, they are now accompanied by unfathomable tragedy.
My parents – two of the eight Americans held hostage in Gaza – were on their morning walk through the Kibbutz Nir Oz fields on Oct. 7 when hundreds of Hamas terrorists stormed the area and dragged my parents to Gaza.
For over 80 excruciating days, we kept hope that they were among the living hostages. That was until Israeli intelligence and the FBI confirmed my worst fear: The terrorists had brutally murdered my mother, 70-year-old Judy Weinstein, and my father, 72-year-old Gad Haggai. They now hold their bodies captive as bargaining chips and a sick trophy to commemorate the death and destruction they wrought.
US must help free Hamas hostages: For five months, we thought our son was alive. Release Hamas hostages and spare others our pain.
Hamas killed more than a thousand innocent people on Oct. 7 and took hundreds more hostage.
My kibbutz has become a community of refugees
Before their attack, my kibbutz was a quiet place full of families actively working toward peace. Now, more than a quarter of its residents have been murdered or taken hostage. More than half of the homes were burned to the ground, some with families still inside.
Today, my kibbutz is vacant – the ones who survived the massacre are now a community of refugees with no stability, no future to plan, searching for a place to call home again.
More than eight months since Oct. 7, and not a single international aid organization has visited the hostages. The International Committee of the Red Cross has not provided any proof of life, medicine or care. It took the U.N. Security Council more than seven months to call a meeting for the hostages. Women’s organizations have stayed silent, even after new video footage showed Hamas torturing seven female hostages.
Daily threat of sexual violence: Hamas hostages in Gaza are still enduring sexual violence. Believe the survivors.
The fate of Hamas hostages can change every second
As we passed the 200-day mark, an 18-country coalition led by the United States issued a joint statement on April 25 demanding the immediate release of all hostages. It was one of the most powerful responses to the hostage crisis since Oct. 7.
On May 31, President Joe Biden called on the world to pressure Hamas into accepting a cease-fire deal: “Everyone who wants peace now must raise their voices and let the leaders know they should take this deal.” Just days later, the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations issued a statement calling on Hamas to accept this deal.
This is momentum, and the international community cannot let it go unharnessed. We need to use it to get our loved ones home and to work toward peace in the region. As U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Egypt last week, the regional governments must “press Hamas to say yes.”
This crisis is not political. It is a global humanitarian issue, a global threat. The reality is that no one can guarantee Oct. 7 won't happen again. As a matter of fact, it seems closer than ever.
Dozens of Americans were slaughtered on Oct 7. It can happen anywhere in the world, and tragically, Americans have experienced that firsthand.
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Hamas is connected with the Iranian regime, and while I can’t thank the Biden administration enough for all that it’s doing, it is time for the United States to push all G7 leaders to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, cut off their income, pass sanctions on them and their allies, and continue to lead to a terror-free world.
Time has run out; the fate of the hostages can change every second. It’s been too long. Let me and my siblings mourn the loss of our parents. Please, to all of the world leaders, give us the chance to heal and live the life they wanted for us. Bring them home.
Iris Weinstein-Haggai is the daughter of 70-year-old Judy Weinstein and 72-year-old Gad Haggai, who were killed in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hamas killed my parents. Now they hold their bodies hostage in Gaza
