Latest news with #hostagecrisis
New York Times
3 days ago
- General
- New York Times
A Sunday Ritual Turns Into a Smoky Scene of Chaos
Every Sunday at 1 p.m. in Boulder, Colo., the walkers take their places. They have done so since a few weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel. They begin at Pearl and Seventh Streets and walk toward the courthouse, along a pedestrian mall. Lisa Effress, 55, who has lived in Boulder for 17 years, has been there since the first walk. 'Whenever I'm in town,' she said, 'I try to be there.' The ritual is simple: walk, speak the names of those still held hostage, sometimes sing 'Hatikvah,' the Israel national anthem, and bear witness. The numbers vary — 20, sometimes 100. People see the group, hear the songs, and fall into step. They wear red. It's symbolic. It's visible. Ms. Effress wasn't walking this Sunday. She was across the street, having lunch with her daughter. But lunch got cut short. She heard sirens. Police cars, ambulances. She checked the time and figured the group must be near the courthouse. She left lunch and ran over. 'I knew immediately — I just knew,' she said. 'I ran across the street, looking for everyone.' What she found felt surreal. Smoke. Discarded clothes used to extinguish flames. People dazed, half-undressed. Bags and backpacks left behind in panic. And then, she saw a friend who was a Holocaust survivor, being helped into an ambulance. 'It was horrible,' said Ms. Effress, a filmmaker and managing partner in a post-production company. On every walk, Ms. Effress said, she is vigilant. Alert to strange behavior, to tension in the air. 'We are peaceful. We are not protesters,' she said. 'But there are always people protesting us.' She added: 'I have always taught my daughter: Be proud to be Jewish. Don't be afraid. But in a time like this, it is crazy to think we will ever be walking again. It's dangerous, it's not safe for us.' She said that according to a Whatsapp chat for the walking group, the weekly walk has been canceled indefinitely.
New York Times
3 days ago
- General
- New York Times
A Sunday Ritual Turns Into a Scene That ‘Looked Like a War Zone'
Every Sunday at 1 p.m. in Boulder, Colo., the walkers take their places. They have done so since a few weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel. They begin at Pearl and Seventh Streets and walk toward the courthouse, along a pedestrian mall. Lisa Effress, 55, who has lived in Boulder for 17 years, has been there since the first walk. 'Whenever I'm in town,' she said, 'I try to be there.' The ritual is simple: walk, speak the names of those still held hostage, sometimes sing 'Hatikvah,' the Israel national anthem, and bear witness. The numbers vary — 20, sometimes 100. People see the group, hear the songs, and fall into step. They wear red. It's symbolic. It's visible. Ms. Effress wasn't walking this Sunday. She was across the street, having lunch with her daughter. But lunch got cut short. She heard sirens. Police cars, ambulances. She checked the time and figured the group must be near the courthouse. She left lunch and ran over. 'I knew immediately — I just knew,' she said. 'I ran across the street, looking for everyone.' What she found felt surreal. Smoke. Discarded clothes used to extinguish flames. People dazed, half-undressed. Bags and backpacks left behind in panic. And then, she saw a friend who was a Holocaust survivor, being helped into an ambulance. 'It looked like a war zone,' said Ms. Effress, a filmmaker and managing partner in a post-production company. 'It was horrible.' On every walk, Ms. Effress said, she is vigilant. Alert to strange behavior, to tension in the air. 'We are peaceful. We are not protesters,' she said. 'But there are always people protesting us.' She added: 'I have always taught my daughter: Be proud to be Jewish. Don't be afraid. But in a time like this, it is crazy to think we will ever be walking again. It's dangerous, it's not safe for us.' She said that according to a Whatsapp chat for the walking group, the weekly walk has been canceled indefinitely.
The National
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
We deserve closure, father of Gaza hostage says
Ruby Chen has spent 587 days waiting for his son Itay, 19, to come home. An Israeli-German-American soldier serving in the Israeli military, Itay was taken hostage by Hamas -led militants during the October 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel. His father now divides his time between grief and diplomacy, appealing to leaders, from Washington to Doha, for help in bringing him home. 'My family are Holocaust survivors,' Mr Chen told the The National, as he prepared to speak before the UN Security Council on the issue of hostages held in Gaza. 'They understand the magnitude of having a Jewish state to protect us. Itay could have gone to college, could have been in New York, but he chose to serve.' He said he met many times with the US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff – 'a man with a large heart'. 'He understands the issues of the hostages as he himself lost his son in different circumstances, but he understands what it means to be a parent and losing a child,' said Mr Chen. 'He has promised to us that: 'I will not disappoint you, and I will not end this mission until you will be reunited with Itay as well as the other US families'.' Mr Chen emphasised the importance of sustained international efforts to bring the remaining hostages home. 'We need the help of the US's international partners such as the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Saudi, to broker a deal which will decouple the bigger political issue that has been going on for decades," he explained. "There are still 58 hostages, including four Americans, as well as the humanitarian crisis of the people of Gaza who have been used as human shields by a terrorist organisation for far too long." His comments come after hostage Edan Alexander was released by Hamas, reportedly as a goodwill gesture towards US President Donald Trump, who is visiting the Gulf this week. Mr Chen also urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to heed public opinion on the war. 'Four polls show the Israeli public supports a ceasefire to get the last hostage home. Not hostages, but the last hostage,' he stressed. On March 24, Mr Chen and his wife were notified by the Israeli military that Itay probably did not survive the October 7 attack. 'For over 19 months, Hamas have not been willing to acknowledge that he is in their possession … what is his physical status? I think this is the lowest form of terrorist psychological warfare imaginable,' Mr Chen told the Security Council at a special meeting on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, which addresses the obligation of returning hostage remains. 'We are collateral damage,' Mr Chen said. 'We are not the sons or daughters of prime ministers. But we deserve comfort. We deserve closure.' For now, Mr Chen and his family remain stuck, as he describes it, 'in an alternative universe", fighting for one thing: 'to be reunited' with Itay. When asked what he would say if given the chance to speak directly to Hamas, he said: 'I would say to them that they have done bad things. We need to see a better future for everybody.' He added: 'This war has gone on far too long. We need to find a compromise … a way to be together. We are all children of the same God. We are descendants of Abraham, all of us.' Mr Chen said any aspiration by Hamas to take part in the international community must begin with the release of the hostages captives. 'If they indeed wish to be part of the future, then they need to release at least the hostages and negotiate in good faith for a better future for the Palestinian people.'
RNZ News
13-05-2025
- RNZ News
Hostage escapes kidnappers in PNG, police authorised to use lethal force
Photo: ANDREW KUTAN In Papua New Guinea the escape of a 13-year-old girl from a hostage situation on the border of Western and Hela provinces has boosted hopes for the rescue of her fellow captives. The group of 10 people was taken captive early on Monday morning at Adujmari. PNG Police Commissioner, David Manning, has called the perpetrators 'domestic terrorists' and warned that officers are able to use lethal force if needed to secure the release of the hostages. Thirteen-year-old Aiyo's fellow captives were four adults - a teacher and his wife, and a health worker and his wife - along with another four school girls. The Post Courier reports the kidnappers have demanded the government pay a ransom of half a million kina for the safe release of the captives. Aiyo has told police that the kidnappers had threatened to harm the group if no money was forthcoming. Assistant Commissioner of Police, Commander Steven Francis, says officers are working around the clock to secure their safe release. Locals in the Adujmari district have so far raised more than 11 thousand kina to try and negotiate the safe release of the group.
