Families rally on Upper West Side, call for release of hostages in Gaza
NEW YORK -- Dozens of people gathered Sunday at 90th Street and Central Park West calling for the release of hostages still being held in Gaza.
The father of one hostage said his son was captured while fighting Hamas following the Oct. 7 attack.
"In order to move forward in any way, these hostages have to come home alive," Jonathan Dekel-Chen said.
"I think we want the whole world to remember that our hostages are coming from over 20 different nationalities, from five different religions. This isn't an inner Israeli or Jewish issue. This is a global crisis," said Shany Granot-Lubaton of the New York Hostages Family Forum.
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Israeli authorities say militants took 250 people captive on Oct. 7 and more than 130 remain in captivity in the Gaza strip.
More than 28,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
