As the war in Gaza continues, families of hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7 gathered with religious leaders in New York City on Monday for an interfaith conference.
Attendees including Jewish and Muslim hostage families, pastors, rabbis and imams appealed for peace at a discussion hosted by the Jewish Federation of New York.
“It’s time to put an end to this suffering, to finalize an agreement to bring back our children, our fathers, our sisters and our mothers. I urge everyone to do everything in their power to put pressure on all sides to make sure this agreement happens,” said Ronen Neutra, father of American hostage Omer Neutra. “We need to bring them back. It’s urgent.”
Rabbi Joel Levenson of the Midway Jewish Center on Long Island (speaking) shares the stage with Sheikh Musa Drameh and Father Ryan Muldoon, director of the Secretariat of Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue for the Archdiocese of New York. (Fox News Digital)
Former hostage Aviva Siegel, whose husband remains in captivity despite his release, said she still wanted the people of Gaza to have a better life.
“Someone came up to me last week and said, ‘I don’t believe you. How can you expect a good life for the people of Gaza after what you’ve been through?'” Siegel said. “I intend to remain a good person, so I want everyone to be a good person and I believe everyone deserves a better life. [in Gaza]”
Maldives bans Israelis from entering the country amid Gaza conflict
Notable attendees at Monday’s event included Rabbi Menachem Krediter, the Pearl and Ira Meyer Fellow at UJA-Federation New York, Rabbi Mark Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, Rabbi Joel Levenson of the Midway Jewish Center, NYPD Detective Mohamed Amen, Muslim American Leadership Alliance Vice President Danyal Khan, restaurateur and television personality Zach Erdem, and Father Ryan Muldoon, director of the Secretariat of Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue for the Archdiocese of New York.
On October 7, families of hostages held in Israel attended an interfaith forum in New York City. (Fox News Digital)
Monday’s incident came after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that four hostages kidnapped on October 7 had died while in Hamas captivity. Three of them, in their 80s, had previously been seen in a Hamas video pleading for their release.
About 80 hostages in Gaza are believed to be alive, with 43 more remaining dead. Since President Biden announced the ceasefire plan on Friday, Israel has seen some of its largest protests calling on the government to return the hostages. Biden said the plan came from Israel, but Israeli leaders have appeared to distance themselves from it, vowing to continue military operations against Hamas until the militant group is destroyed.
Legal expert says Netanyahu, Trump face similar ‘political prosecution’
Late on Monday, hundreds of people, including relatives of prisoners, gathered outside the Israeli Defense Ministry and army headquarters in central Tel Aviv to call for a deal. Smaller protests were held across the country.
Families hold up photos of loved ones still held captive by Hamas. (Fox News Digital)
A week-long exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners in November saw the release of about 100 captives. The three men whose deaths were announced on Monday had relatives of women released during the exchange.
More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli bombings and ground operations in the Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza Strip’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Israel accuses Hamas of operating from populated areas and blames it for civilian deaths.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Israel has expanded its offensive into the southern city of Rafah, once a hub for humanitarian aid, cutting off most of the supply of food, medicine and other supplies to widespread starving Palestinians.
Fox News Digital’s Peter Aitken and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
