January 30, 2025, New York, NY – The American Jewish Congress is relieved and overjoyed by the release of eight hostages from the murderous hands of the Hamas terrorist organization after 482 days of inhumane captivity.
We are happy to see the release of three Israeli hostages (2 young women and one an elderly man): Arbel Yahud (24), Agam Berger (20), Gadi Moses (80); and five Thai hostages: Pongsak Thainna (35), Sathin Suankham (34), Sariyaun Watchara (32), Saithiaw Banawat (27), and Romano Surasak (30), after Hamas abducted and held them in subhuman conditions in Gaza for nearly 16 months.
For hours, the entire world watched Hamas’s sheer brutality and inhumanity during the release process. The horrifying footage showed Hamas forcibly leading Arbel and Gadi into a raging mob of violent rioters who attacked them for almost an hour, putting their lives at immediate risk just moments before their long overdue release.
Gadi Moses, Arbel Yehud, and Agam Berger
The world must see and remember these shocking images of an 80-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman being thrown into the hands of a frenzied, violent mob. This is not just an isolated act of brutality. It is a stark reminder of the ongoing and immediate threat that lurks just a few hundred yards from Israel’s borders. The world cannot afford to look away – this is the harsh reality that every Israeli has lived with since October 7th, and it is a danger that remains as real and imminent as ever.
Alongside Agam, Arbel, and Gadi, five Thai citizens were freed today. Despite being Thai nationals, Hamas cruelly held them hostage for 482 days, nearly 16 months, under horrific and inhumane conditions. Still, one Thai citizen, Pintha Nathapong (35), remains a hostage in Hamas’s murderous hands, while the bodies of two other Thai citizens, Suntia Okkrasri (30) and Sontisak Rintalak (43), remain in Hamas’s possession after they were brutally murdered in the fields of Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7th.
This level of cruelty proves to anyone who still had any doubts that Hamas is not a “liberation movement” but a barbaric terrorist organization that despises life and poses a danger to every freedom-loving nation and society.
Horrific footage of Arbel Yahud surrounded by Palestinian terrorists
Arbel Yahud (24) was kidnapped from her home in Nir Oz along with her partner, Ariel Cunio. Her brother, Dolev, left home on October 7th to help the wounded. Eight months later, his body was discovered in the kibbutz. Arbel has been passionate about space exploration since childhood after watching Star Trek. In recent years, she worked at the Technology, Science, and Space Center in the Eshkol Regional Council.
Gadi Moses (80) was abducted from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, while his partner, Efrat Katz, was brutally murdered. His former partner, Margalit Moses, was also kidnapped and later released in a hostage deal. Two months after the October 7th massacre, Hamas released a video featuring Gadi and Elad Katzir.
Agam Berger (20) was kidnapped from the Nahal Oz military base just two months after enlisting as an IDF lookout. In footage of her abduction, her face was stained with blood, whether from her own wounds or those of her fellow soldiers who were murdered beside her remains unclear. After the release of four other female lookouts last week, Agam was left behind and held alone by Hamas for an additional week.
Gadi Moses escorted by Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists as he is handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP/Jehad Alshrafi)
The American Jewish Congress remains steadfast in its commitment to securing the release of all remaining hostages, including infants, women, elderly individuals, and young men and women, who, at this very moment, are still held captive by Hamas, enduring life-threatening conditions and unimaginable cruelty.
We will not stop until every hostage is home.
