4 US hostages remain in Gaza; questions arise over lack of media attention compared to other US hostages

Following the IDF's announcement that the bodies of six hostages, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, were recovered from Rafah, attention has now shifted to the remaining hostages still alive in Gaza.

Many U.S. citizens may not realize that four American hostages are currently held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This issue has received limited attention from U.S. President Joe Biden's administration, which has made only a few statements about hostages with dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship being held by captive by Hamas in Gaza.

One of these statements came early Sunday morning when Biden said he was "devastated and outraged" by the Goldberg-Polin's death.

Goldberg-Polin was one of eight U.S. hostages abducted by Hamas during the Oct. 7 massacres in southern Israel. With Hersh’s death confirmed, four of the eight are now confirmed by the IDF to have been killed by Hamas. 

Four American hostages are still in captivity, and their current condition remains unknown.

Keith Siegel 

Keith Siegel (64) was last seen with hostage Omri Miran in a video released by Hamas. In that video, Miran mentioned the recent Passover holiday, indicating the video was released soon after recording. Keith was abducted with his wife Aviva from their home in Kfar Aza. The couple was driven into the Gaza Strip in their own vehicle and kept together until Aviva’s release in the November hostage release deal. 

Following her release, Aviva said her husband had not told Hamas that he was a U.S. citizen out of fear that Hamas would release him without her. 

Sagui Dekel-Chen 

Sagui Dekel-Chen was a project manager for the United Kingdom branch of the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemet Le’Israel) which organizes the construction of schools and youth centers.

Dekel-Chen was abducted from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7. He was a member of the kibbutz’s security team, and engaged Hamas terrorists in combat before eventually being captured after several hours. 

His father Jonathan spoke at a J Street event on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) last month, where he called on Democratic leaders to hold Hamas accountable for its actions. 

Omer Neutra 

Long Island-born Omer Neutra was serving as a tank commander in the IDF on Oct. 7 when he was abducted by terrorists. Omer’s parents, Orna and Ronen Neutra, have been active ever since, raising awareness about his plight, as well as those of the rest of the captives. 

Like the parents of Goldberg-Polin, Omer’s parents took their message to both the Republican National Convention (RNC) and the DNC, calling for both sides to work toward the release of all the captives. 

Inspired by Neutra, recently both a cousin and close friend of his decided to immigrate to Israel and join the IDF.

Edan Alexander 

Like Omer, Edan Alexander was captured while serving in the IDF on Oct. 7. Alexander spoke with his parents on the phone that morning, shortly after the rocket attacks from Gaza began. He assured his mother that he was safe. About half an hour later, she was not able to reach him. 

Both Omer and Edan were assigned to the same post in southern Israel on Oct. 7. As soldiers, they would be part of the last group released during a hostage deal, with Hamas considering soldiers to be more valuable for negotiations. 

Besides these four men, three other U.S. citizens who were killed or fatally wounded on Oct. 7 are also being held by Hamas in Gaza: Itay Chen (19); Judith Weinstein Haggai (70); and Gadi Haggai (73).

In early August, Denver Post columnist Doug Friednash wrote about the remaining American hostages, asking why their plight did not arouse the same media publicity as other hostages or prisoners, such as Brittney Griner, a member of the U.S. women's national basketball team and a three-time Olympic gold medalist. Griner received international attention in 2022 when she was detained in Russia on a drug offense. She was found guilty and sentenced to nine years but was later released in a prisoner exchange.

Friednash noted that 33 Americans were killed in the Oct. 7 Hamas massacres, while eight were taken captive. Four of those eight are now confirmed dead.

He noted that most Americans could probably not even name any of the U.S. hostages, and the lack of media focus on their situation or the U.S. government’s efforts to free them.

“And, we need to ask the question: why are these five [now four after the death of Hersh Goldberg-Polin] Americans forgotten? Is it because they are Jewish or dual citizens? Is it because our nation’s leaders believe this is predominantly Israel’s problem, not ours? Or, is it for some other political reason?” he wrote.

Almost one month later, those questions appear to be unanswered.

Following the return of the hostages bodies, 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7 remain in captivity in Gaza. This latest figure includes the bodies of at least 33 hostages who have already been confirmed deceased by Israel Defense Forces.

Please pray for the remaining hostages.