Families of hostages held by Hamas discuss weeks of agony and hope for release

Amna Nawaz:

Now to the families of people held by Hamas and this agonizing six weeks of horror and worry.

Five of Abbey Onn's family members were kidnapped on October 7. Her grandmother, Carmela Dan, an American-Israeli dual national, and her 13-year-old niece, Noya, were found dead just inside Gaza one month ago. Carmela's son-in-law, Ofer, and his two other children, 16-year-old Sahar and 12-year-old Erez, are still held hostage.

Liz Hirsh Naftali is awaiting the return of the youngest American hostage, her grandniece, 3-year-old Abigail Mor Idan.

Abbey and Liz, welcome to you both. And thank you for joining us.

I just want to begin by asking both of you to share what this moment is like, knowing that a deal to release some of the hostages, at least, could be imminent.

Liz, why don't you begin?

Liz Hirsh Naftali, Great-Aunt of Hostage: Well, first, thank you for having us on the show. I think it's important for us to just keep talking about the hostages and reminding people that these are innocent civilians that were taken hostage, were abducted on October 7.

And my grandniece Abigail is 3 years old. And I am thankful for all the work that President Biden, the administration has been leading. I'm thankful to whatever support the Qatar government is and everybody that's involved.

But what I feel tonight is, like, we started this morning with this excitement that we were going to have a hostage deal. And it's now the evening, and we don't necessarily have a hostage deal. And what it is a reminder of is that, until we see Abigail and other children and mothers leaving Gaza, we cannot let go.

We cannot stop doing this work, and we can't believe it until we actually see it.

Amna Nawaz:

Abbey, what about you? You have already lost family members. We are so sorry for that loss you have already suffered.

But this hope that the remaining family members could be released, what's this moment like?

Abbey Onn, Relative of Hostages: I think Liz says it well, but it's almost like a knot, like you're waiting for something to untie, but it's not there yet. It feels really fragile.

There's so many things that have to come into place at the right time. And then there's the kind of — I think it's 30 hours where people can appeal, and that — the notion that any sort of military mishap could put this in danger as well.

And so we have a lot of hope, I think more hope than we have had at any other point in the process, in terms of a diplomatic resolution for the 50, but we still feel like, until we can see them with our eyes, until we can touch them, the knot is still in our stomachs.

Amna Nawaz:

And, Abbey, do you know, have you gotten any indication that this would mean at least the two youngest, Sahar and Erez in this case, would be released as part of a potential deal?

Abbey Onn:

There's no confirmation of names right now. As far as I understand it, the government will be getting a list of 10 names the night before each release if this is to move forward.

I hope that they would then share the names with the families, because, as I understand, the first thing that's going to happen is medical care and then right to the families. And so I think the families will need some sort of preparation.

But there's speculation that they would be among the children released.

Amna Nawaz:

Liz, of course, that would mean the release of 3-year-old Abigail, the youngest American there.

And you're wearing that 45 on your shirt to remind everyone just how long she and the others have been held. But I need to ask you as well about some of the opposition in the Israeli government. There are some who say a deal is not a good idea, you shouldn't be negotiating with terrorists, a cease-fire could just allow time for Hamas to regroup.

What do you make of that argument?

Liz Hirsh Naftali:

I make of it no argument. We need to have these children come home. These are 30-plus innocent civilians who are children.

This is not political. This is humanitarian. They have been abducted. They are somewhere in the dark in Gaza for over 45 days now. Enough is enough. They need to come home. This is not about politics. This is about children that should not be in the middle of a war, that did nothing. Abigail is 3 years old. Her birthday is on Friday.

No child should spend their birthday as a hostage. None of these children should be there. So I pivot and I don't go to the politics, and I just remind everybody that is listening and I hope our leaders who are listening we need to bring these children home, and we need to bring them home now.

Amna Nawaz:

Liz, I should ask you too. I know her two older siblings survived. They were rescued by IDF forces.

How are they doing? What do you tell them about what's going on?

Liz Hirsh Naftali:

These children watched both their parents be murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7. They then went and they buried their parents.

They are blessed to be with loving family, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents. But these children, they know what is going on. They're very articulate about what happened. And the family is very honest about what is going on.

And, really, their hope, the one thing that they are holding hope and faith is that Abigail is going to come home to them really soon and run around and play soccer, eat ice cream and do what three little kids do, siblings do. And so the thought of a 6- and 10-year-old having witnessed that, as a mother, I can't bear it.

But I also know that the one thing that they are waiting for right now is her little sister to come home, so that they can hug her and celebrate her fourth birthday with her.

Amna Nawaz:

Abbey, Erez is just 12, I understand. And Sahar is just 16. And I know there's a lot of uncertainty throughout the last six weeks, but there is video that you have seen. You see Erez. He was alive when he was taken.

Abbey Onn:

Yes.

Amna Nawaz:

I can only imagine what's going through his mind when he's in the hands of those terrorists there.

But what can you tell us about this 12-year-old boy, about his 16-year-old sister?

Abbey Onn:

As we said, no one should celebrate their birthday in captivity, and Erez turned 12 there in October.

So we deeply believe that it's the job of the Israeli government and all of our governments to bring them home. Erez is now the same age as my son. He is a horseback rider and he's a bike rider. He plays the trumpet and he loves LEGOs. He is the baby of four siblings.

Sahar is 16. She has another year left of high school. She and her older sister are best friends. They — if you don't look closely, you would mistake them for one another. They're both beautiful and look like twins.

She's an artist. She plays the bass. And they need to be brought home to their siblings and to their mother.

Amna Nawaz:

If there is a deal, I should ask you both, it will likely mean some, not all the hostages come home. And I know there is this bond now between you and all the other families enduring the unimaginable right now.

I just want to ask each of you what that conversation is like between you and the other families, knowing some of you will be able to see your loved ones soon, but not everyone.

Liz?

Liz Hirsh Naftali:

It is a cruel and terrible conversation, but I will say that I really believe that everybody understands that the children need to come out first. The little kids need to come out first.

I know that, once Abigail comes out, I and other parents and relatives of these hostages will continue to work every day to ensure that all 230-plus hostages come home to their families. So I pray that we get these kids out and that we then continue, and we will, and these families are together in this process.

And it's just — I'd like everybody to come out. And they will. We just have to do this thing that actually takes care of our little children first.

Amna Nawaz:

Abbey, what would you say to that?

Abbey Onn:

Look, we have seen four people be released already and one person be rescued. And every single one of them was a success and a celebration and we rejoiced.

And I think, at this point, we all are close with one another, and it weighs heavy on our hearts to think that some will come out and others won't. In my situation, God willing, Erez and Sahar come out, but Ofer won't, right? He is a grown man, so he would not be among this list.

And so, as Liz is saying, whoever comes out, it doesn't stop the fight for any of us. We will fight until every single hostage is home. And I think we will all have more motivation knowing that there was a diplomatic resolution, that something can be solved and that we can fight to bring every single one of them home.

Amna Nawaz:

That is Abbey Onn and Liz Hirsh Naftali.

We are thinking of you and of your families. And we thank you so much for joining us tonight. Thank you both.

Abbey Onn:

Thank you.

Liz Hirsh Naftali:

Thank you for having us.