Five US citizens are still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.
The American captives are among a total of 63 hostages still held by the terrorist organization.
Of those, just 24 captives are believed to still be alive, rescued former hostage Noa Argamani told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday.
Who Are the Five American Hostages?
1. Edan Alexander, 21, was born in Israel just a few months before his parents moved to the US, where he grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey. Edan is believed to be alive, the last living American hostage.
2. Itay Chen, 19, was born in the US and grew up in Netanya. He was the youngest American hostage held by Hamas terrorists, who snatched his body after he was killed on October 7, 2023, and dragged him in Gaza, where he remains captive.
3. Gadi Haggai, 73, spent a number of years in the US working as a jazz musician before returning to Israel to live in Kibbutz Nir Oz with his wife Judi. He was shot and killed in a field near the kibbutz, and his body was taken into Gaza, where he is still being held hostage.
4. Judi Weinstein Haggai, 70, made aliyah to Israel in 1976 and moved to Kibbutz Nir Oz, where she lived with her husband Gadi. After her husband was shot by the terrorists, Judi called paramedics, but they never reached her – the terrorists returned and shot and killed her too before taking her body to Gaza, where she remains captive along with her husband.
5. Omer Neutra, 22, was born in New York City to parents who moved from Israel. Omer decided to spend his gap year in Israel, later staying and enlisting in the IDF’s tank brigade. His team was ambushed and killed by Hamas terrorists who opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). Omer’s body was then kidnapped by the terrorists who dragged him to Gaza, where he is still held hostage.
No Time Left!
“We don’t have any more time! I’m here today because it’s a miracle, but there are still 63 hostages living this nightmare. They are in complete darkness, not knowing whether they will live or die in the next moment. Every moment that passes is an eternity of suffering,” Argamani emphasized.
“Twenty-four of them are alive. Life cannot go on without them,” she said. “Until Avinatan returns – my heart is captive.”
Argamani, 27, was abducted from the Nova Music Festival on October 7, 2023, along with her boyfriend Avinatan Or. She was rescued by IDF soldiers in June 2024 along with three other hostages – Almog Meir, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv.
The three latter former hostages have since filed a lawsuit in the United States against the People Media Project, a pro-Hamas nonprofit organization that owns the Palestine Chronicle.
The Hamas terrorist who held the three men captive in his home, Abdallah Aljamal, worked as a journalist for the Palestine Chronicle. He was killed in the raid during which the three former hostages were rescued.
