Meet the five American hostages who are still held by Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups in Gaza. Full Schedule and Latest Updates , for real-time updates. Growing up in Tenafly, New Jersey, whenever any of their favorite artists put out a new album, Edan would grab the car keys and take his sister for a drive so they could analyze every song. A happy-go-lucky guy, a champion swimmer for his high school team, and a big fan of the New York Knicks, Edan spent most of his young life in Tenafly.
But he was born in Israel just a few months before his parents moved to the U. He spoke Hebrew at home and visited Israel often to see both sets of grandparents.
He even celebrated his bar mitzvah there. Edan and 16 other American high school graduates, including a classmate in Tenafly, moved to a kibbutz and did four months of training before committing to serve in the IDF. He was on patrol at a kibbutz on the morning of October 7 and called his mother after the Hamas attacks began. I'm here. I'm with you. I love you. Just protect yourself. I didn't know I'm not gonna hear from him again. Itay Chen, 19, is the youngest American hostage in Hamas captivity.
His body is still being held by Hamas. Born in the U. He was a Boy Scout who played basketball and, like many teenagers, loved his PlayStation. Haggai, 73, died face down in a field as Hamas rockets streaked across the sky and terrorists stormed his kibbutz, kidnapping and murdering its residents.
Haggai, 73 was a retired chef, jazz musician, father of four, grandfather of seven, exercise guru, and pacifist. During his mandatory military service, he served as the first flutist in the IDF orchestra. After several years in the U.
