Former hostages and their relatives spoke at a march in New York City on Sunday, two days ahead of the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 terror attack — and as reports point to progress on a potential President Donald Trump-led peace deal that could finally free those held in Gaza.
Speakers at the "NYC March to Bring Them Home," organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, expressed hope that a deal is within reach.
Hamas terrorists murdered more than 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 250 into Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. Two years later, 48 remain captive. About 20 are believed to be alive.
Attendees praised Trump for making the hostages a priority and pointed to his 20-point peace plan.
Reports suggest a framework is being discussed that could bring home the remaining hostages in stages, backed by American, Egyptian, and Qatari mediation.
Keith Siegel, an Israeli-American originally from North Carolina, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza with his wife on Oct. 7. She was freed earlier. He told marchers he still carries the scars of his time underground.
"The brutality I endured still haunts me," he told the crowd.
"We were trapped alone in suffocating tunnels. We were starved, denied water, beaten, held in unbearable conditions. Every night I lie awake thinking of those still there."
Siegel credited U.S. leadership for his release and said his mission now is to fight for others.
"I couldn't believe I was free while my friends and so many others were still there," he said.
"Since then, it has become my life's mission to do whatever I can to bring them home."
Another survivor, Iair Horn, was kidnapped with his brother Eitan from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Eitan remains in Gaza.
"Every fourth person in my kibbutz was either murdered or kidnapped," Horn said.
"In captivity you dream about small things, a bottle of water, a moment of freedom. My brother Eitan is still there, and we can't stop until he comes home."
Nadav Rudaeff, whose father, Lior, is among the hostages, said the families won't relent.
"We have no privilege to stop until they are all home," he said. "We must remain hopeful, but we cannot stop until all 48 hostages are brought back and this long tragedy ends."
Moshe Lavi, whose brother-in-law Omri Miran is still captive, said the mission is above politics.
"The hostage crisis is a universal, international, humanitarian crisis," he said. "People of different faiths and nationalities were targeted simply for being in Israel. We will bring the living back to their families and the murdered to a proper burial in the land of Israel."