Sisters plead for release of family members held hostage by Hamas
WOODMERE, Long Island (WABC) -- Between tears on Monday, two sisters, Rinat Har Sheleg and Natali Har, told the story of October 7 when their father, his girlfriend and three of her relatives, including a 17-year-old, were kidnapped by Hamas.
"In the morning, my father write me a message that he hears Arabic outside and they're inside the safe room," said Sheleg.
That text exchange was one of the last from her father, Luis Norberto Har, and it was followed up a short time later with "kisses to all of us," added Sheleg.
And then he was gone, kidnapped along with the others from Kibbutz Nir Itzhak.
Now the sisters are spending a week in New York, sharing their story, appearing at Yismach Moshe Synagogue in Woodmere on Monday.
"Please bring them home now," pleaded Rinat.
It's an appeal to New Yorkers, to the world, to remember the Israeli hostages - the 241, who are still being held by Hamas.
"It's very tough for them," said Dov Hikind of Americans Against Antisemitism. "But they know they have to do it. That's why they're here."
Rinat lived on that Kibbutz with her two sons, but they weren't home during the attack.
The kibbutz was decimated. They can't return. Their lives in limbo.
Monday wasn't about politics, but about humanity. And making a family whole, again.
ALSO READ | Survivor of Hamas kibbutz raid shares how he kept attackers out
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