Israeli Hostage Crisis

Floor Speech

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Mrs. TORRES of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from Florida for bringing us together to bring awareness and to never forget the folks who still need to be returned home.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to demand the immediate release and safe return of the remaining hostages in Gaza held by Hamas terrorists.

I am grateful for President Biden's leadership that has led to the release of hostages. However, many remain captive, including 22-year- old Omer Neutra.

Omer was born in the United States and is the son of Ronen and Orna and now has spent over 50 days in captivity. He grew up in Long Island, where he was the regional president of the United Synagogue Youth and captain of many sports teams.

His friends and family describe Omer as a natural-born leader known for his compassion, seeing the best in people, and bringing communities together, a peaceful soul. His kindness and sense of duty led him to defer his future at Binghamton University to defend his grandparents' land with the hope of bringing communities together. Putting his future on hold to serve others, that is Omer.

His drive to lead and to serve now puts him last in line to be released from captivity. His family, who are with us here this evening, have been in agony for the past 7 weeks with no word if Omer is even alive. We will continue to pray for him.

As the mother of an Air Force veteran, I can only imagine their agony. This is something that no parent, no mother, no father, no grandparent could ever imagine would happen to their loved one.

I join my colleagues in calling for the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas, and I urge the administration to continue to do everything in their power to help free hostages like Omer and ensure their safe return home.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Manning), the co-chair of the Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Anti-Semitism.

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