WhatsNew2Day – Latest News And Breaking Headlines
Antony Blinken hugs a tearful 24-year-old Israeli woman as he talks about the horror of the music festival massacre and pleads for help in freeing hostages in Gaza: ‘We were saved by a miracle. But there are friends we love who weren’t
Blinken hugged the woman who said she had lost friends in the Hamas attack on a festival
“We’ve lost a lot of our friends, close friends and a lot of family members,” she told him
“Telling your story makes a big difference,” he told her
The White House says it has no information about prisoners held in Gaza
<!–
<!–
<!– <!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
A 24-year-old Israeli woman recounted the horrors of the Hamas attack on an Israeli music festival last weekend and begged US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to help free her captured friends.
Blinken met the woman during a tour of a donation center during his trip to Israel, where he stood side by side with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to show US support for his long-standing ally.
The trip came five days after Hamas, the Palestinian terror group, launched an attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 150 hostages.
Blinken spoke to a young woman who was at a desert music rave that was attacked by the terrorists.
She told him, “We’ve lost a lot of our friends, close friends, a lot of family members. There are many people we know who have been kidnapped and are now in Gaza. We really experienced horror.
“I’m like – I’m 24. And I never thought something like this would ever happen at a dance or at a music festival. We celebrated love and we danced,” she said, laughing nervously as she described the event, and as people sang in the background.
She added, “And it was amazing. And then the rockets started and shots were fired everywhere.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken had an emotional meeting with a 24-year-old Israeli woman who recounted the horrors of the Israeli music festival where Hamas militants shot attendees. She begged for help to bring her kidnapped friends home from captivity
‘We managed to escape. But there were many friends who didn’t. And there were many friends who are now being held captive in Gaza,” she said, as a crowd gathered around her.
She described both the immediate horror and emotional trauma of those who experienced the Hamas attack on the techno festival, where more than 260 people were killed and others were still missing.
‘We were saved by a miracle. But there are friends we love who weren’t,” she told the top US diplomat, who is Jewish and has relatives who lost several relatives in the Holocaust.
“Thanks for being here,” she told him. ‘It is very important. If there’s any way to help, like first priority – first priority – it’s our friends and family who are in Gaza right now. we are strong here, we are powerful here,” she told him.
“We feel that,” Blinken tried to reassure her, before the two hugged.
‘We want to bring them home. And I’m sorry you have to go through this,” Blinken told the woman, who was with her father and boyfriend
They described the terror at the music festival, where friends and family were murdered
A photo taken on October 10, 2023 shows the deserted site of the weekend attack on the Supernova Desert Music Festival by Palestinian militants near Kibbutz Reim in the Negev Desert of southern Israel
The White House says it has no information about hostages seized by Hamas
‘We are thinking of them and trying to do everything we can. We want to bring them home. And I’m sorry you have to go through this.
“Thank you so much for being here and speaking. It means a lot,” she told him.
He then told her how valuable it was to share her trauma publicly.
‘I admire your strength and telling your story also makes a big difference. The world needs to hear this.
They spoke as Blinken toured a building where donations are flowing into Tel Aviv to provide aid to those affected by the terrorist attack.
The meeting came after the White House said it had little information about the fate of hostages taken by Gaza militants during the terror attack.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said fewer than a handful of Americans are being held captive, out of 17 missing.
He said the US had sent recovery experts to advise and work with the Israelis. But he said the US did not know where the hostages were, whether they were groups or individually, or whether they had been moved. He said no ‘proof of life’ had been provided.”