Americans Missing in Israel After Hamas Attacks
Israel Americans Go Missing After Hamas Attacks
10/10/2023 2:15 PM PT
There's at least half a dozen American citizens who are unaccounted for in Israel following deadly attacks from Hamas ... including a mother and daughter visiting from Illinois.
President Joe Biden says 14 Americans have already died in the Hamas terrorist attack, with the death toll already standing at 1,700 and counting.
It's unclear if the six Americans reported missing in Gaza are dead or alive, but their families are holding out hope for a safe return ... and Biden says more Americans are likely among those who have been taken hostage by terrorists.
In addition to the Illinois mother and her teen daughter, there's also a 23-year-old who was at the music festival where Hamas attacked and took hostages; a soldier with the Israeli Defense Force; a 35-year-old father of two; and a 66-year-old grandmother.
Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie Raanan traveled from their Chicago-area suburb to Israel last month to visit relatives, and they were reported missing during Saturday's attack and are feared to have been kidnapped by Palestinian gunmen, their family told ABC 7 Chicago.
Natalie graduated from high school this past spring and their Illinois synagogue is praying she and her mother are safe.
Hersch Goldberg-Polin was at the desert music festival that became a target for Hamas terrorists ... and his parents told the Jerusalem Post he texted them Saturday morning saying "I love you" and "I'm sorry" before going radio silent.
Hersch was born in Berkley, CA before moving to Israel with his family in 2008 ... he had just celebrated a birthday before going to the rave, where Hamas killed hundreds of festivalgoers.
Itay Chen's a 19-year-old dual citizen serving in the IDF and he's been "missing in action" from his post in Gaza since Saturday, his father told CNN.
Chen's father says his son basically vanished along with his military unit and the family is hopeful he surfaces in time to make it to his younger brother's upcoming Bar Mitzvah in Italy.
Adrienne Neta, a mother of four and grandmother of seven, is thought to have been taken hostage by Hamas ... her family told Fox News they think she was kidnapped from her home, where she's lived for decades since moving from Fresno, Calif.
Neta's family says they were on the phone with her when terrorists entered her home ... and they heard her screaming.
Sagui Dekel-Chen, a father of two with another baby on the way, was among those in his neighborhood who fought back against a terrorist onslaught before going missing.
While some of his neighbors were seen being led away by Hamas, his father says Dekel-Chen was not among the hostages and vanished without a trace ... though his wife and kids survived the attack.
