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As US Voters Cast Ballots, Seven Americans Are Still Being Held Hostage by Hamas
A person stands in front of a montage of images of hostages seized by Hamas during a demonstration in Tel Aviv demanding their release. Photo: Reuters/Amir Cohen
As US voters headed to the polls on Tuesday to select their next president and representatives in Congress, supporters of Israel issued reminders that seven Americans were unable to join their fellow countrymen because they were still being held hostage in Gaza by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
On Oct. 7 of last year, Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists murdered 45 Americans and abducted 12 into Gaza during their massacre across southern Israel. As of now, seven American hostages remain in Hamas captivity in Gaza. Four of them — Keith Siegel, Omer Neutra, Sagui Dekel-Chen, and Edan Alexander — are thought to still be alive. The other three — Itay Chen, Gad Haggai, and Judi Weinstein Haggai — are believed to be murdered by the terrorist group with their bodies still in the Palestinian enclave.
On Tuesday, election day in the US, some pro-Israel voters urged the electorate to keep the American hostages in mind as they made their selections.
“Remember that while you are voting today, there are a lot of people who can’t — like the American hostages who are being held captive by Hamas,” Seattle radio host Ari Hoffman posted on X/Twitter.
“As we exercise our democratic rights, we will not forget those denied theirs,” added the American Jewish Committee. “For 396 days, US citizens Itay, Eden, Keith, Sagui, Gadi, Judith, and Omer have been held hostage by Hamas — three of them have been murdered. Remember them as you and millions of Americans exercise your right to vote.”
Over the weekend, Jewish actor and comedian Michael Rapaport expressed similar sentiments, saying his election “endorsement” is for the hostages.
“I’ve endorsed ISRAEL, JEWS, & the HOSTAGES. My endorsement is for the 101 Hostages to be freed. My endorsement is for the 7 American Hostages to be released. I endorse all Jews & Zionists,” he posted on social media.
The Biden administration, in which Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris currently serves as vice president, has faced criticism from both sides of the political aisle for being unable to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
Criticism spiked when American-Israel hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin was murdered by Hamas terrorists two months ago right before Israel Defense Force (IDF) soldiers could rescue him. He was found along with five other hostages in a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Hamas terrorists had executed them prior to a raid by Israeli forces.
Both Harris and her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, have promised to prioritize the return of the American hostages if they were to win the White House.
While speaking at an event focusing on antisemitism in August, Trump suggested that Hamas would suffer consequences if he wins the presidency and the hostages are not returned.
“We want our hostages back, and they better be back before I assume office,” Trump said. “They’re not going to keep people around for now three years; they’re not going to be taking care of them for three years.”
One month earlier, Trump called for the release of all American hostages around the world during the final night of the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Trump has also repeatedly blamed Harris and incumbent President Joe Biden for the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, arguing that their supposed weakness emboldened Hamas to attack the Jewish state.
Harris has also made the release of the hostages a focal point in many of her campaign speeches. The vice president has also met with the families of the American hostages, promising that she would do everything in her power to ensure their safe return home.
“[The Israel-Hamas war] must end immediately, and the way it will end is we need a ceasefire deal, and we need the hostages out,” Harris said during her presidential debate with Trump in September.
Securing the freedom of the hostages remains a priority for Americans invested in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. According to an Harvard-Harris poll from last month, nearly 7 in 10 Americans said they believe that Israel should only strike a ceasefire deal with Hamas after the hostages are freed.
According to the poll, Americans believe Trump will be more “effective” at resolving the Israel-Hamas war than Harris by a margin of 47-37 percent.
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US Vetoes UN Security Council Demand for Gaza Ceasefire
Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from Israel, June 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The United States vetoed a UN Security Council demand on Wednesday for an “immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire” between Israel and Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza and unhindered aid access across the enclave.
“The United States has been clear we would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza,” Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the council before the vote.
“This resolution would undermine diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire that reflects the realities on the ground, and embolden Hamas,” she said of the text that was put forward by 10 countries on the 15-member council.
The remaining 14 council members voted in favor of the draft resolution.
Israel has rejected calls for an unconditional or permanent ceasefire, saying Hamas cannot stay in Gaza. It has renewed its military offensive in Gaza – also seeking to free hostages held by Hamas – since ending a two-month ceasefire in March.
The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people in Israel in an Oct. 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave.
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Trump Picks Lawyer Who Called Oct. 7 Attack a ‘Psyop’ to Lead Federal Watchdog Agency
Paul Ingrassia. Photo: Screenshot
Paul Ingrassia, a 29-year-old lawyer who was recently nominated by US President Donald Trump to lead a federal agency dedicated to combating corruption and protecting whistleblowers, seemingly dismissed the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2o23, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel as a “psyop,” or “psychological operation, in resurfaced social media posts.
“This ‘war’ is yet another psyop to distract Americans from celebrating Columbus Day,” Ingrassia wrote on X/Twitter on Oct. 8, 2023.
“I think we could all admit at this stage that Israel/Palestine, much like Ukraine before it, and BLM before that, and covid/vaccine before that, was another psyop,” he posted a week later. “But sadly, people fell for it. And they’ll fall for the next one too.”
On the actual day of the Oct. 7 massacre, Ingrassia compared illegal immigration into the US to the Hamas-led onslaught.
“The amount of energy everyone has put into condemning Hamas (and prior to that, the Ukraine conflict) over the past 24 hours should be the same amount of energy we put into condemning our wide open border, which is a war comparable to the attack on Israel in terms of bloodshed — but made worse by the fact that it’s occurring in our very own backyard,” he posted. “We shouldn’t be beating the war drum, however tragic the events may be overseas, until we resolve our domestic problems first.”
Trump announced last week that he picked Ingrassia to serve as head of the US Office of Special Counsel, a position that requires confirmation by the Senate.
The Office of Special Counsel is an independent federal ethics agency that works to ensure fairness and accountability within the government. Ingrassia’s role, if he is confirmed, would involve investigating claims of wrongdoing, such as retaliation against whistleblowers or improper political activity in the workplace. The official can recommend disciplinary action and reports serious findings to Congress, helping to protect federal employees and uphold the integrity of the civil service system.
Ingrassia also maintains a relationship with and defends alleged sex trafficker Andrew Tate, who has promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media. Tate wrote on X/Twitter that he refuses to “listen to women, Mexicans, or Jews” and that Jewish people are “subverting Western populations into mass genetic suicide” by advancing what he described as misguided immigration policy. Tate has also accused Israel of committing a “genocide” in Gaza against Palestinians and engaged in Holocaust denialism.
The furor surrounding Ingrassia is the latest dustup the Trump administration has had regarding controversial personnel and antisemitism.
The Trump administration’s appointment of Kingsley Wilson as deputy press secretary at the Department of Defense also sparked widespread criticism due to her history of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories and extremist views. Wilson, formerly associated with the Center for Renewing America, has a documented history of social media posts endorsing white supremacist ideologies, including claims about the 1915 lynching of Leo Frank — a Jewish man whose wrongful conviction and subsequent murder galvanized the founding of the Anti-Defamation League. In 2023, she tweeted that Frank “raped & murdered a 13-year-old girl,” a statement aligning with neo-Nazi narratives.
Late last month, the Pentagon announced that Wilson will be promoted and serve as the department’s new press secretary.
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US Congress Pushes to Designate Muslim Brotherhood as a Terrorist Organization
US Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaking at a press conference about the United States restricting weapons for Israel, at the US Capitol, Washington, DC. Photo: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Members of the US Congress are moving quickly to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as an official terrorist organization.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) announced on Tuesday that he will reintroduce an updated version of the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act.
“In the coming days, I will be circulating and re-introducing a modernized version of the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act, which I have been pushing for my entire Senate career,” he posted on X/Twitter. “The Muslim Brotherhood used the Biden administration to consolidate and deepen their influence, but the Trump administration and Republican Congress can no longer afford to avoid the threat they pose to Americans and American national security.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) sent a letter to the White House on Tuesday asking US President Donald Trump to open an investigation into the Muslim Brotherhood, saying that the group maintains “a documented history of promoting extremist ideologies.”
“Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE all declared the Muslim Brotherhood an FTO [foriegn terrorist organization] over a decade ago, and France is considering its own action. Following suit would help the US disrupt the Muslim Brotherhood’s ability to recruit and finance terror around the globe,” Moskowitz wrote on X/Twitter.
The push to proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood gained momentum last month, when the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) organized a meeting to help members of Congress develop “strategies to ban the growing threat of the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States,” the research group said in a press release.
“The Muslim Brotherhood appears to be the intellectual inspiration behind all Islamist groups (and their jihadist offshoots) that operate today, such as ISIS, al Qaeda, and Hamas,” ISGAP wrote in a 2023 report. “Sunni jihadist groups are grounded in the firm ideological roots that key MB [Muslim Brotherhood] ideologues pioneered in the last century.”
Hamas, the internationally designated terrorist group that has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades and perpetrated the largest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust with its invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, is a Palestinian offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. Both Cruz and Moskowitz noted that Hamas is a “branch” and an “affiliate” of the global Islamist movement.
While several countries in the Middle East have already classified the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, the United States has yet to do the same, despite several attempts by Congress over the years. During Trump’s first term in office, officials in both the White House and Congress took initial steps toward sanctioning the group’s international branches, but a formal designation was never finalized.
US lawmakers believe they have identified multiple pathways to economically cripple the internationally designated terror organization. Congress could combat the Muslim Brotherhood by designating it a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) or placing it on the Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) list. Both options would levy heavy penalties on the group through methods such as freezing its assets or sanctioning its leadership.
The post US Congress Pushes to Designate Muslim Brotherhood as a Terrorist Organization first appeared on Algemeiner.com.