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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.
The post As US Voters Cast Ballots, Seven Americans Are Still Being Held Hostage by Hamas first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.