Immigrants to Israel from Bergen County, New Jersey have officially been listed among the missing Hamas-held hostages in Gaza, according to a statement made earlier this week by Governor Phil Murphy, according to US media.
Governor Murphy spoke at a Hoboken vigil, hoping for the "swift, safe return" of Edan Alexander from Tenafly, New Jersey. Alexander was serving in the IDF near the Gaza border during the attacks, local media reported.
Alexander was one of multiple North Jersey residents who are believed to be among the 200 hostages held in Gaza by Hamas terrorists, according to the New Jersey Attorney General, Matthew Platkin. Those Bergen County residents are also believed to be among the dead.
New Jersey Jewish community gathering at Jewish Community Center
A-G Platkin spoke to those gathered at the Kaplan JCC on the Palisades to show support for Israelis following the attack, according to US media.
Platkin addressed the crowd: "It was terrorism plain and simple. There were two Bergen County men who are missing. Let us demand their return."
National security adviser Jake Sullivan told media that 20 or more Americans are still yet to be accounted for, which could include the dead and missing still yet to be identified.
"It was terrorism plain and simple. There were two Bergen County men who are missing. Let us demand their return."
Matthew Platkin
The state's A-G left without identifying the identities of the suspected hostages, nor of the confirmed dead or missing. However, reports show former New Jersey residents like Laor Abramov, 20. Abramov has been missing since he called his family from a party that was disrupted by gunfire, according to reports by CBS and other US media outlets.
Local New Jersey outlets reported that Nancy Dubin, a cantor with Temple Beth Rishon in Wyckoff, said in an interview at the JCC event that she hasn't heard from her son Ari, an active duty soldier in the IDF since Saturday.
The Jerusalem Post and OneFamily are working together to help support the victims of the Hamas massacre and the soldiers of Israel who have been drafted to ensure that it never happens again.