We’re going to talk briefly about what happened in Rome. The family members of hostages had a news conference after meeting with Pope Francis this morning.
Karina Ariev’s 19-year-old sister Alexandra also spoke at the event. Karina was working at an Israeli army base close to Gaza when she was taken by force.
Alexandra says that every minute and every hour are really important for the hostages. She also says that every one of them needs to come back home. Not in boxes. They need to return home and share the stories of the people who were killed, so we can learn from them and have a better future.
After Nimrod Cohen, who is 19, comes his father. He says that when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, our lives changed a lot. We don’t think about day and night, we just wait for him to come back and for others to return to Israel.
Rachel, Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s mom, says her son and his friends hid in a bomb shelter at the Supernova music festival in California. It was attacked by Hamas militants.
“Many people died, but a few survived and were able to tell us what happened. Rachel says Hersh lost his left arm from the elbow down. ”
She said it was 47 days ago that her heart was buried in Gaza.
Finally, someone from Kibbutz Be’eri came. His sister, Raaya Rotem, 45, and niece, Hila Rotem Shoshani, 13, were taken into Gaza.
He hasn’t heard from Raaya since 12:05 on October 7th and doesn’t know what’s happening.
Date:
Relatives of hostages hold press conference after meeting with Pope Francis
