Frustration deepens among family of US hostages, as war in Middle East rages anew
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Hamas released new video of two hostages on Monday.
Both hostages, from Israel, have been held for nearly 18 months.
For family members of the hostages or for families wanting to get the remains back of their loved ones who were killed, the renewed fighting in the Middle East has left many wondering if enough is being done to bring them home.
Two parents are fighting to get their children back.
Sirens wailed over Tel Aviv and a few dozen miles away, hundreds more have been killed, says Hamas, in the IDF's renewed onslaught in Gaza.
The Palestinian death toll is said to top 50,000.
All of it, is so numbingly exhausting for the people on both sides with skin in the game.
"I think it just means that the little people, no one cares about us," one of the hostages' fathers Ruby Chen said.
Half a world away in Midtown, Ruby Chen arrived from Israel on another leg of his endless world tour to get back the remains of his son Itay.
Itay is one of five American citizens, still held by Hamas.
"President Trump has spoken about America first and I say what about America first? What about the remaining five U.S. hostages?" Chen said.
President Trump burst into office and with the momentum intact, a ceasefire deal that had been on the shelf for months.
Several dozen hostages were released then.
As the agreement neared the end of its first phase last month, Israel and Hamas accused each other of breaking the deal, and the window closed, with the war raging anew.
In all, there are 59 hostages left.
Of the five Americans, only one is believed to be alive, 20-year-old Edan Alexander of Tenafly.
"It's really like an out-of-body experience, ups and downs," Adi Alexander, Edan's father said.
Adi Alexander is in solidarity with renewed protests across Israel to stop the fighting and bring them home.
"We really hope the military pressure will target only one objective to get those five people out ASAP and get everybody back to the bargaining table," Alexander said.
"At the beginning, there were 12 U.S. hostages taken. Seven came out. Five are still left behind. And this is the mightiest, most powerful superpower since the beginning of mankind. How is the United States not able to get its citizens out?" Chen said.
Publicly, the Trump Administration has said it is standing behind Israel's decision to restart the war, blaming Hamas for refusing to negotiate.
It's been 534 days since October 7th and for the families, the agony has no end in sight.
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