Baltimore's Jewish community continues solidarity walks until all hostages are released
BALTIMORE -- Members of Baltimore's Jewish community are continuing their weekly walks until all of the hostages in Gaza are released.
More hostages were recently sent home by Hamas as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal, more than 15 months after the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack.
Julie August, one of the organizers of the weekly solidarity walk at Chizik Amuno, has been vocal about advocating for the Israeli hostages.
"We're happy to have them home," August said. "Obviously, it's going to be a very, very long recuperation."
Three more hostages were released on Saturday, including American-Israeli Keith Siegel, officials said. So far, 18 hostages have been freed. Dozens of Palestinians have been freed from Israeli prisons — approximately 30 prisoners for every hostage returned alive.
"It's very painful," August said. "I mean, obviously, we want them all to be released. We want the living to be released, and we also want the bodies to be released so that they can be buried and their families can actually have some closure with that."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday.