Now families of teen hostages use haunting Mail page in plea to Washington
AMERICAN leaders have vowed to fight ‘like warriors’ to free some of the youngest Israeli hostages after they were shown copies of the Daily Mail article that told of their nightmare.
The parents of the teenage girls still held in Gaza travelled to the Capitol in Washington DC where they gave politicians framed copies of the story.
It shows devastating images of Liri Albag, 18, Karina Ariev, 19, Daniela Gilboa, 19, and Agam Berger, 19, bloodied and with their eyes full of terror after being kidnapped. Beside them are photographs of how the girls looked before they were taken by Hamas on October 7, under the headline ‘Don’t forget them!’
The parents begged US leaders to redouble their efforts in case the teenagers – all serving soldiers who were abducted from the Nahal Oz IDF base on the
Gaza border – have been raped and are pregnant.
Senate Leader Chuck Schumer – one of the most powerful men in the US – put his hand on his heart and promised to do all he could.
The Democrat said afterwards that the images ‘brought tears to my eyes’, adding: ‘We cannot rest and the families being here just importunes us even further.’
Ben Cardin, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, said he would put the article up in his office, and vowed to get the girls back.
Democratic whip Katherine Clark also accepted the clipping at her office in the Capitol as she promised to fight for the girls’ freedom, as did Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and Senator Katie Britt, who led the US motion to condemn Hamas and support the hostages.
The article went viral after it was published on January 8, and boosted demands to get the remaining women home. It was shown at The Hague in the Netherlands, and Gilad Erdan, the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, also held it up in the UN.
Daniela’s parents, Orly, 48, and Ran Gilboa, 53, and Agam’s father, Shlomi Berger, 52, and her cousin, Ashley Waxman Bakshi, 38, were invited to Washington with the
Daily Mail to tell their story.
Giving the piece to Republican Ms Britt, Ms Gilboa said: ‘This was the article in the Daily Mail. It was very, very hard for us to publish this, but it was very important. It really did something, and we hope it will influence the decision-makers to make the right decisions here.’
Explaining the horrifying urgency to act for the female hostages, she said: ‘The time for women is critical. I don’t want to think about if my daughter was raped, but if she was and she’s pregnant, three months is the latest you can do an abortion. We are past three months. Every day is critical. Every day they can be raped and sexually abused.’
A weeping Ms Britt told them: ‘I have a 14-year-old girl and as I look at every one of their faces, I see hers. In me you not only have a friend, you have an ally, you have a fierce warrior. I will not stop.’
Placing the framed article on her desk for visitors to see, she added: ‘It’s imperative we continue to share these powerful stories and expose the pure evil that is Hamas. I commend the Daily Mail for not allowing the world to turn a blind eye to the atrocities that Hamas has inflicted.’
The families also had private meetings with Ms Clark and Ms Schakowsky. Mr Berger said: ‘It had a big effect. When they saw the pictures they thought, “This could be my daughter or my granddaughter”. They connected with us.’
‘I commend the Daily Mail’