'Heartbroken' American Living in Israel Reveals Her Family Has Been Taken Hostage by Hamas
The image is seared into the heart of Abbey Onn — a 12-year-old cousin dragged away by a Hamas terrorist during Saturday’s attacks.
“I feel heartbroken,” Onn, an American who has been living in Israel for the past eight years, said Tuesday on “Fox & Friends First.”
“I have a child the same age in the other room. It is any parent’s worst nightmare. It is inconceivable that this is happening in this day, in this time in Israel,” she said, according to Fox News.
“We woke up Saturday to sirens and began communicating with family members in the south and very quickly learned that Hamas had entered the country on foot, and in many other ways, and that there were thousands of terrorists,” Onn said.
“We understood that terrorists were in the house [of her family]. They could hear gunfire … and we lost contact with them in the midmorning,” she said.
She said the kibbutz near Gaza where her family lived was burned with many people killed.
“It was a day later that we saw a video of our 12-year-old cousin in the hands of Hamas,” she recounted.
Onn said the fate of the innocent captives “isn’t political. These are humans. These are people’s grandparents and children and husbands and wives.”
Onn said relatives Carmela Dan, 80; Ofer Kalderon, 50; Sahar Kalderon, 16; Erez Kalderon, 16; and Noya Dan, 12, were taken in the raid.
“I am trying my best to stay optimistic and believe that there will be some kind of diplomatic solution to this,” she said.
“I am going to hold out hope until there isn’t any.”
On Monday, the parents of Itay Chen, 19, who was born in New York City, marched outside the American embassy in Israel to seek action to rescue their son, who holds joint Israeli and American citizenship, according to USA Today.
“We are asking the president to do what he can in order to bring our kids back safely home,” said Ruby Chen, Itay Chen’s father.
The family members wore T-shirts that read “Help Find Itay” and held signs that read, “USA protects its citizens!” “Bring Itay Home Now,” and “Help Find Itay.”
Hamas has said that if Israel bombs Gaza targets without warning to allow those in those buildings time to leave, it will stage televised executions of its hostages.
American Israeli Hersh Golberg-Polin, 23, is also missing. He had been attending a music festival that was a prime target for Hamas, according to the New York Post.
He texted his parents saying “I love you” and “I’m sorry,” but has not been reachable since the attack.
“We just want him home and safe,” his father, Jonathon Polin, said.
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