An American hostage, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was horrifically executed by Hamas while America’s President, Joe Biden, sat on a beach for two weeks, and his Vice President Kamala Harris rambled incoherently about a ceasefire on CNN.
The time to help Goldberh-Polin has sadly passed. However, there are four American hostages still held by Hamas who may be alive, according to the American Jewish Committee. The site lists three other American hostages as still being held by Hamas too, but they are believed to be deceased; those three made the list because it’s believed their bodies are being held by Hamas.
The other four, if still alive, can still be saved. We are old enough to remember when American hostages were household names – think, Daniel Pearl or Terry Anderson. Today? It’s remarkably difficult to find an accurate list of current American hostages being held by Hamas in the U.S. news media. Per the AJC list, they are:
Edan Alexander, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Omer Neutra, and Keith Siegel.
Every American should know their names.
According to the Center for a New American Security, “11 American citizens were kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7—the largest single group of Americans held hostage overseas since the 1979 Tehran embassy siege—and more than 30 Americans murdered.” BBC reported on September 1 that 97 people remain hostages of Hamas overall.
Four U.S. citizens remain in Hamas’ clutches.
Here are the American hostages still held by Hamas, according to an Aug. 31 article by AJC.
Edan Alexander
Alexander is a soldier from Tenafly, New Jersey. He is 19.
Alexander “was born in Tel Aviv, grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey, and joined Golani (Brigade’s 51st Battalion) as a lone soldier after graduating from high school in 2022,” Times of Israel reported.
He had told his mother he was safe during the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, but she was then informed he was taken hostage.
Sagui Dekel-Chen
Sagui Dekel-Chen “was last seen kissing his pregnant wife as he locked her and their two daughters inside a safe room.” He is “a project manger for the U.K. branch of the Jewish National Fund who organizes the construction of schools and youth centers,” according to WTNH.
According to Jewish Link, he grew up in Bloomfield, New Jersey.
Jonathan Dekel-Chen spoke to NPR after the murder of Goldberg-Polin and the other hostages.
“Well, keep in mind that Hamas, since it took hostage over 240 Israelis, has not allowed any Red Cross visits or any other international agencies, so we know very little about any of the hostages,” he said. “The last sign of life we got from Sagui was in late November, early December from the testimony of some of the women and teenagers who were released in the first hostage deal that are from my kibbutz, from my small community on the border with Gaza. So we know, as of then, that he was alive and wounded.”
He added: “We have been in a living hell. This is the second time in two weeks that a group of hostages who were alive until very recently were murdered and their bodies returned to Israel. Last week, a group of six older men were returned. We know for a fact that they were all alive, all of them murdered by Hamas in recent months. And four of those men were members of my kibbutz, friends of mine for the last 40 years.”
“This is a deal with Satan. Hamas is Satan.”
Omer Neutra
According to Jewish Unpacked, “Born in New York City in 2001, Neutra grew up on Long Island before heading to Israel and joining the IDF.”
“I texted Omer and didn’t get a response,” a friend told Jewish Unpacked. “He’d been telling me a month before that he wasn’t getting much sleep and was patrolling all the time, working hard because he needed to. The next day one of our good friends called me to tell me they thought he was kidnapped.
ABC7 described Nuetra as “a 22-year-old kid from Long Island.”
“I think a ceasefire without release of hostages would be horrible,” said his mother, Orna Neutra, to the television station.
“It’s a death penalty to the hostages,” added his father, Ronen Neutra.
Keith Siegel
According to the Times of Israel, “Keith Siegel, 64, was taken captive with his wife, Aviva Siegel, 62, from their home on Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, when Hamas terrorists attacked their community, killing and abducting Israelis and burning kibbutz homes. The couple was driven into Gaza in their own car, along with a neighbor and her two children.”
His wife was later released. “Keith Siegel, originally from North Carolina, is known as a quiet, kind man, dedicated to his wife, children and grandchildren,” the site reported.
Believed Deceased, But Bodies Still Being Held
Gadi Haggai
Gadi Haggai (73) & Judi Weinstein Haggai (70). On 10/7, Judi called to say she and her husband were shot by men on motorcycles in their kibbutz. The ambulance that was sent to treat them was hit by a rocket and never arrived.
Hamas took their bodies with them back to Gaza, and… pic.twitter.com/3wj8o8FIDj
— Yael Bar tur 🎗️ (@yaelbt) April 10, 2024
According to the Times of Israel, it’s believed that Haggai was murdered by Hamas, but his body still remains in Gaza.
He was “a retired chef and jazz musician, was a father of four and grandfather of seven,” Times of Israel reported.
Judith Weinstein Haggai
Judith Weinstein Haggai Z”L pic.twitter.com/BzwslqCjw0
— RPG Grandma (@mumma_laura) September 1, 2024
The Times of Israel reported that Haggai, Gadi’s wife, “was murdered during Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught and her body is being held in Gaza.”
Itay Chen
He is on the AJC list, but Israel announced in March that he was murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7, according to CNN.
CNN reported that his body was taken into Gaza and has not been returned, noting, “Israel considers people hostages even after death until their remains are returned.”
According to CNN, “Chen was the second of three sons, a former Boy Scout and a fierce basketball player.”
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