[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 196 (Wednesday, November 29, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5648]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Israel

  Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Madam President, I am here once again to highlight 
the stories of the people who have been and continue to be held hostage 
by Hamas. I am so happy to hear that several of our hostages, whose 
families I have worked with, have been finally returned. They include: 
4-year-old Abigail Mor Edan, whose parents were both murdered in front 
of her eyes and who now faces the horrible process of healing from the 
many traumas she underwent; Danielle Aloni and her 5-year-old daughter 
Emilia. They had been visiting Danielle's sister Sharon, her brother-
in-law David, and their 3-year-old twins Emma and Julie on the day of 
the attack, when all of them were taken captive. Sharon, Emma, and 
Julie have also just been released, but David still remains in 
captivity.
  I am so grateful that members of another family I have worked with 
have also been released. They include 67-year-old mother Shoshan, 
sister Adi, Adi's two young children Naveh and Yahel, Aunt Sharon, and 
Sharon's 12-year-old daughter Noam.
  It has been heartening to see these families reunited with their 
loved ones, to see the joy and the indescribable relief, and I am 
grateful to the Biden administration for making these reunions 
possible. But, of course, many, many more people still remain in 
captivity, including Emma and Julie's father, David, and Naveh and 
Yahel's father, Tal.
  These families have already endured the worst traumas imaginable, and 
yet now they have still been ripped apart, with no idea when they will 
see their fathers and brothers and sons again. Tal is a 38-year-old who 
reads a lot and loves to explore new topics as well as exercise and 
play sports. He and his family like to travel in the desert areas in 
southern Israel and spend time near the Sea of Galilee.
  David is a talented 33-year-old actor who lived with his family in 
Nir Oz. He and his family woke up on the morning of October 7 to the 
sound of bombs and sought refuge in their home's bomb shelter. But when 
Hamas set fire to their house, the shelter filled with smoke and forced 
them out to meet the terrorists.
  His American family last saw him in a video shared by Hamas where he 
can be seen in the back of a truck with Sharon and one of the twins. A 
survivor who was able to escape says she spoke briefly with him and 
that he said to her:

       I know that I left the safe room with two babies, and now I 
     have only one.

  I can only imagine what it must be like for him now to have both of 
his babies ripped away.
  These two families, these fathers, don't deserve to be separated from 
their families. They don't deserve to be kept in horrific conditions, 
potentially with little food.
  As joyful as it has been to see some of the hostages reunited with 
their families, we must not stop pushing for the release of all the 
remaining hostages. I will continue to work with their families and 
with the Biden administration to advocate for these individuals, and I 
will not rest until we get every hostage, including the nine Americans, 
home.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Dakota.