‘We need to bring them home': Advocates worry hostages in Gaza are being forgotten

The symbolism was simple and effective.

A group of mothers set up 35 teddy bears, laid out in a row in a Miami Beach park, each with a picture of a child, one bear for each of the kids being held hostage by Hamas. Their ages range from 10 months to 17 years, and they’ve been in captivity now for more than a month.

The group read the names of the hostage children, sang songs, and made a statement of remembrance.

“I think we’re all a little surprised at parts of the world that have forgotten these are children,” said Lourdes Suarez, the event’s organizer. “And we don’t want the world to forget that we need to bring them home.”

Israel says the count is now up to 240 total hostages. These are people Hamas terrorists abducted from their homes, from the dance festival, and other places. Family members of the hostages see that as the days go on, there are fewer and fewer mentions of their loved ones in newspapers and newscasts.

“Yeah, I mean you turn on the news and you see that the hostages is just moving lower and lower and lower down the headline priority list if it’s there at all,” said Oded Eshel, whose cousin, Alon Shamriz, is one of the adult hostages.

Eshel joined his two cousins, Yonatan and Ido Shamriz, who are Alon’s brothers, in Washington this week. Eshel lives in Fort Lauderdale, and the Shamriz brothers flew in from Israel.

“We strongly believe we made an impact on this trip,” Yonatan Shamriz said.

Yonatan and Ido narrowly escaped being captured or killed themselves. Like their brother Alon, they lived in kibbutz Kfar Aza, which was devastated by the Hamas attack of Oct. 7. Fifty-eight of their neighbors were murdered.

The brothers told their story to Congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle.

“We really hope that they put some pressure on the players that play a key role in this conflict to bring home the hostages as soon as they can,” Yonatan Shamriz said.

“To know how close they came to death and to be able to come to DC to advocate on behalf of their little brother is just so powerful and emotional,” Eshel said.

Eshel’s wife is NBC6 reporter Marissa Bagg. He says the past four weeks have been excruciating for his family. I asked him what he thinks when he sees so many people openly supporting Hamas and minimizing its atrocities.

“It’s incredibly hurtful and it’s a world I didn’t think existed,” Eshel responded.

The barbaric Hamas attack created a world of anguish. The hostages coming home would be a cause for joy.

“Our hearts are broken, bring our children home,” Lourdes Suarez said to the gathering at the park.

As far as anyone knows, there has been no progress in freeing the hostages. Hamas has not sent any proof of life videos, so families are in limbo, hoping that pauses in the fighting will lead to hostages being released.