EMET Mourns The Brutal Murder of Six More Israeli Hostages at the Hands of Iranian Backed Hamas

EMET Mourns The Brutal Murder of Six More Israeli Hostages at the Hands of Iranian-Backed Hamas

EMET is shattered with grief over the devastating news of the brutal murder of six hostages, at the hands of the Iranian-backed, terrorist proxy, Hamas, in Gaza. All of us, lovers of Israel and the Zionist cause,  are in deep mourning over the loss of:

Hersh Golberg-Polin (23)

Alexander Lobanov (32)

Almog Sarusi (27)

Eden Yerushalmi (24)

Ori Danino  (25)

Carmel Gat (40)

We feel the profound pain of the families, and of those who knew and loved these six beautiful young people the longest.

Five of the hostages had been kidnapped by Hamas while participating in the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel. Carmel Gat was kidnapped from her family’s home in Kibbutz Be’eri, where she had been visiting. Earlier this year, EMET worked with her brother, Or, to arrange for meetings on Capitol Hill advocating for the release of Carmel and all hostages. We send our condolences to Or and the entire Gat family.

These brutal execution-style murders were carried out by Hamas, one of the many terrorist tentacles of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Their barbaric execution, shortly before the IDF was about to rescue them, proves that Hamas is not interested in a de-escalation of the current conflict. We also know that the Islamic Republic of Iran has been using Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis as their terrorist proxies, destabilizing the entire Middle East, as they have been working to advance their nuclear program. The United States must continue to support Israel’s efforts to ensure that Hamas no longer controls the Gaza Strip and can no longer pose a threat to the lives of Israeli civilians, as it must remember who are true friends are in the Middle East, and the sort of alliances that Iran has with Russia and China.

EMET will continue to advocate for the release of all hostages taken on October 7th, in a way that ensures Israel’s short and long-term security needs and promotes regional stability.