Families of Americans kidnapped by Hamas describe anguish and what they want Biden to do

Amna Nawaz:

For more on the day's fast-changing developments, I'm joined now by my colleagues foreign affairs and defense correspondent Nick Schifrin and White House correspondent Laura Barrón-López.

Nick, let's begin with that news of the day of this horrific strike on the hospital in Gaza. The Israeli Defense Forces say, it wasn't them; it was an air into Islamic Jihad strike, but many people still believe it was the Israelis. What do we know at this point?

Nick Schifrin:

Well, it is competing claims right now, as you say, Amna.

The Israeli Defense Forces say it was not them. They have said that pretty quickly right after the strike. And I think even in the last 10 or 15 minutes, I have got that statement again from IDF officials about four or five times.

What they just said a few minutes ago was that they have gone back, they have done an analysis of what they called their operational system, and they blame rockets fired by what they call terrorists in Gaza that passed by the hospital at the time it was hit.

They say it was from multiple sources of intelligence, indicates Islamic Jihad, as you said at the top, was responsible for what they called a failed rocket launch that hit the hospital. Again, that is what the Israeli Defense Forces are saying.

The Palestinians are saying it was an Israeli airstrike. In the past, just some context here in Gaza, Israel has hit hospitals in this war and in the past. And we have also have seen Palestinian groups fire rockets that misfire that land in Gaza. So, the competing claims will continue.

Amna Nawaz:

Laura, what have we heard from the White House about this?

Have they been able to weigh in or see any evidence about who was behind this attack?

Laura Barrón-López:

When it comes to the evidence, Amna, they aren't saying who they believe was responsible for the strike, but the — a White House official did issue a statement just a moments ago, saying that the president sent his deepest condolences for the innocent lives lost in the hospital explosion in Gaza and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded, and that ultimately the president is not going to be making the Jordan portion of his trip.

After consulting with King Abdullah of Jordan and also due to the mourning, the day of mourning announced by President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, President Biden considered it best that he not do that second portion of his trip and agreed to remain in close contact with the leaders and hopes to be speaking to them in the coming days.

But that takes a big portion out of his desired stops for this trip, Amna.

Amna Nawaz:

Nick, one of the reasons President Biden wanted to make that trip to Jordan was to try to contain this from becoming a regional larger conflict.

Nick Schifrin:

Yes.

Amna Nawaz:

What are the implications of that summit not happening now?

Nick Schifrin:

It is the implications for the summit not happening, the implications of this strike.

The images have been fast-forwarding through the entire region and through the world, and it will make that containing of this war so much more difficult. Let's just go through and think about the summit. What President Biden needs is help from one of the summit's participants, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the president of Egypt.

He is now not going to be able to talk to him. And they need Egypt to open the Rafah Crossing into Gaza in order to allow humanitarian aid and American citizens leave from Gaza. Laura just mentioned the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, not being willing or not able to meet the president, President Biden, in Amman, again, someone that the president needs to try and keep a lid on violence, especially into the West Bank and Jerusalem, and, of course, King Abdullah of Jordan.

Jordan oversees the holiest sites in Jerusalem, a key, key figure that has been close to the United States for so many years. And if this war is going to be contained, all three of those figures are going to need to participate with the United States in what it's trying to do to try and prevent Lebanese Hezbollah, to try and prevent Iran from entering this war.

But if we see this day of rage across the region, if these leaders are not willing to even be seen in public with the president, containing this war becomes much more difficult.

Amna Nawaz:

Laura, we should stress we still don't know a lot, especially in the fog of war. There are these disputing claims about this horrific hospital strike tonight.

But what does this mean for the relationship between the U.S. and Israel? President Biden has pledged that the U.S. will stand with Israel. Does that change the landscape moving forward?

Laura Barrón-López:

I think that, so far, President Biden has been very clear that he plans to continue showing solidarity with Israel, that he is continuing to go on this trip.

He arrived at Joint Base Andrews just moments ago to head to Israel to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in person. And when he has those face-to-face conversations, sources close to the White House tell me that he is still going to try to stress that point that Nick was making, which is that it's very important to the administration's that this is a contained conflict, that it does not escalate, and that also they are really going to try to focus on making sure that civilians in Gaza are out of harm's way as much as possible.

So, of course, the inability to go to Jordan really hurts the president's ability to prioritize that second part of what his mission was on this trip, but it's something that he will be talking to Netanyahu about.

Amna Nawaz:

That is our White House correspondent, Laura Barrón-López.

Laura, thank you.

Nick, in the meantime, I know you have been continuing to cover this ongoing story, horrific and unimaginable, of the many hostages, Americans among them, who are still held by Hamas. What can you tell us?

Nick Schifrin:

Yes, one of President Biden's most pressing concerns is the fate of as many as 13 Americans being held hostage by Hamas right now.

They're among some 200 hostages with 30 different nationalities. And I spoke to American families of the missing about what they want President Biden to do and about their anguish.

On the morning of October 7, Hamas gunman rampaged, terrorized, and burned and murdered their way through the Israeli kibbutz of Nir Oz. With a smile, they kidnapped the most vulnerable, the community's oldest and youngest residents, including Israeli-American Jonathan Dekel-Chen's son, Sagui.

Jonathan Dekel-Chen, Father of Hostage: My son Sagui is a 35-year-old father of two little daughters. And his wonderful wife is pregnant in her seventh month.

He's the son every father, every parent would want to have, a gift to us all and a gift to everything that he touched and everyone who he touched.

Nick Schifrin:

As best you can tell, what happened to him on the day of the terrorist attack?

Jonathan Dekel-Chen:

They descended on the kibbutz between 6:30 and 7:00 in the morning. They proceeded to kill anyone they could find or taken into captivity anyone they could find.

Sagui got back to his house with wife and two beautiful little daughters, made sure that they were secure inside the connected bomb shelter, and then, approximately for the next hour, and — was in hand-to-hand combat with terrorists who were trying to break into his house. They had already broken into his house, but break into that bomb shelter.

And he continued communicating off and on with the security, with the remnants of the security team and his wife until about 9:30 for — so, for an hour, and, after that, no contact whatsoever.

Nick Schifrin:

I'm a father of two. My kids are a lot younger than yours. And I cannot imagine what you're going through.

So I will just ask this simple question, and you answer it in any way you want. What do you want the world to understand that you're going through right now as a father and a grandfather?

Jonathan Dekel-Chen:

I — I'm sorry, Nick. I can't answer that question. I just can't.

I understand where it's coming from, and I can't. I apologize. It's too much. It's just too much.

Joe Biden, President of the United States: There's not a single thing more and more worrisome than have someone you love, someone you adore, adores you, and not knowing their fate.

Nick Schifrin:

On Friday, President Biden spoke to Dekel-Chen and more than a dozen families of Americans held hostage by Hamas.

Jonathan Dekel-Chen:

It left no doubt in my mind that the president specifically and his administration are totally committed to finding the hostages, not just the American — American citizens among them, but everyone, and returning them home.

Nick Schifrin:

How do you balance then the need, it sounds like you believe, to eliminate Hamas, as the Israeli government has promised, with the need to save your son?

Jonathan Dekel-Chen:

It's an impossible challenge, Nick.

I mean, two things are true at once. That organization and its heads must be destroyed. We cannot continue living like this in these communities or in — deeper into Israel. So, that is an absolute truth. And it's an absolute truth that I and the other families of the hostages want these babies, young men, young women, grannies and grandpas, we want them back for them to live the lives that they were meant to.

Nick Schifrin:

What's your message to President Biden as he goes to Israel?

Liz Hirsh Naftali, Great-Aunt of Hostage: My understanding is that our goal is to get the hostages, the American hostages. And I pray we also get the other hostages from other countries and from Israel.

Nick Schifrin:

Liz Hirsh Naftali is the great-aunt of Abigail Moore (ph) Idan, believe kidnapped from the kibbutz of Kfar Aza.

Liz Hirsh Naftali:

Abigail's a beautiful 3.5 year-old little girl growing up the youngest of three children. She's just a kind, sweet little girl.

Nick Schifrin:

During the attack, gunmen killed Abigail's mother and chased down Abigail's father and two older siblings.

Liz Hirsh Naftali:

While they were running, Abigail in her father's arms, he was shot and killed. The two older kids ran home, locked themselves in the closet. The little girl managed somehow to get to her neighbor and knock on the door.

They took this child in. The family that took her in, the husband went outside to see what he could do. When he came home, his wife and three kids and Abigail were missing. So that's where we are right now. I think she's in Gaza and I hope and I pray being taken care of enough that she's OK.

It's heart-wrenching. It's really hard. It's so hard, and it hurts so bad.

Nick Schifrin:

The only pro of life of any of the 200 or so hostages is from this Hamas video.

The family of 21-year-old Mia Schem today told the media they want this propaganda video shown, and they want the world to do everything to bring them back home.

Do you want the U.S. to push for a delay until the hostages, including your great-niece, can be saved?

Liz Hirsh Naftali:

They understand that we need to get the hostages out, American hostages and other hostages. And so I do hope that it will be delayed, but I also hope that it gives time for the people on the other side to get to places where they will be safer.

That's my hope.

Nick Schifrin:

That is all the families of the missing can do, hope that their loved ones can somehow be saved.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Nick Schifrin.