SARASOTA, Fla. — It’s been 250 days since Jonathan Dekel-Chen last heard from his son Sagui, taken hostage Oct. when Hamas militants executed attacks across Israel, killing and abducting hundreds of civilians.
“That was the worst moment of my life,” Dekel-Chen told 10 Tampa Bay on Thursday during an interview in his second home of Sarasota. Dekel-Chen's kibbutz Nir Orz was set ablaze, and Sagui was last seen hiding his wife and two daughters in a secure bunker.
“It's excruciating stuff, nightmares every night. He and the other hostages we know now for sure are in a living hell, not of their making. Civilians ripped from their homes,” he added.
After a deal that brokered the release of 100 hostages late last year and the rescue of four others last week, Sagui Dekel-Chen is one of 120 hostages and five U.S. citizens still being held captive in Gaza.
“Absolutely no guarantee of what his or anybody else's condition is right now,” Dekel-Chen said.
An impossible reality for his growing family to grasp. Sagui’s wife who miraculously survived the Oct. 7 attack, recently gave birth to the couple’s third daughter.
“[Her] name is Shachar, which is Dawn in Hebrew. [She’s] now about six months old,” he said.
A fitting name, as they plea for a new dawn and continued efforts to save the remaining civilians held captive by Hamas.
“I want and need my son to be reunited with his three little girls and his wife. All of the hostages deserve a return to the lives that they were meant to have. And those who've already been murdered, to be buried by their loved ones,” Dekel-Chen added.
While his connection to the conflict is rooted deeper than many in America, he urges all to speak up to find a way to bring the hostages home and "fight for justice against this kind of barbaric terrorism.”
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Israel has faced growing criticism for the handling of the war in Gaza. In the West, protests have popped up across college campuses, including at the University of South Florida.
"There have been very high and incredibly regrettable levels of civilian casualties in Gaza. There's no argument about that. Hamas could end it today. Simply by saying yes to this offer that's on the table to release the hostages and to end the war," he added.
For now, his family’s nightmare continues, but they hold hope for more reunions for the hostages and the families still waiting.
“We can have our differences on all sorts of things, but humanity has to prevail,” Dekel-Chen said, urging others to not make hostages "a political issue" as an election nears.