Families of those kidnapped or murdered by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 will be attending the State of the Union speech this coming Thursday, March 7, by President Joe Biden.
There are believed to be eight American hostages still being held in Gaza, yet two are said to have been murdered and the bodies not returned. They will all be represented at the State of the Union by their family members.
The six hostages presumed alive are Edan Alexander, Itay Chen, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Omer Neutra, Hersh Goldberg-Polin and Keith Siegel. The two murdered hostages whose bodies still remain in captivity are Judy Weinstein and Gad Haggai, according to the American Jewish Committee.
Orna Neutra, mother of American hostage Omer Neutra, begged for the release of her son who has been held captive for 152 days.
"We are running out of words and running out of strength," Neutra said Wednesday. "At times, I wish I could just retire to a place where there’s no media, just disappear until there is finally a breakthrough, until the phone call comes to the news of your release."
On Wednesday, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., called for the release of the hostages and stressed that the militant group Hamas accept the deal that Israel has agreed to, which includes a six week cease-fire in exchange for Hamas releasing at-risk hostages.
"The ball is in Hamas’ court here," Wasserman Schultz said during the press conference Wednesday. "We have to tell Hamas to accept this deal right now."
"Our message to these families, to our regional partners, and the American people remains consistent and clear," she later said. "Hamas must not succeed. The hostages must come home."