Sapir Cohen, a former hostage released as part of the November deal, met with President-elect Donald Trump and requested his support in returning the remaining 101 hostages from Hamas captivity, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum announced Saturday.
Cohen, who was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz with her boyfriend Sasha Troufanov, his mother, and his grandmother, has awaited the return of her loved ones who have been held captive for 400 days now.
"President-elect Trump, I congratulate you on your election victory. I'm begging you, ensure that rescuing these hostages remains a top priority,” she told the president-elect. “There are 101 hostages still being held captive by the Hamas terrorist organization, enduring relentless daily torture. Among them are seven American citizens who are denied their basic freedoms.
Conditions in captivity
“I was released after 55 days in captivity of suffering and starvation. 55 days of constant fear of being raped. I stayed in tunnels under harsh conditions. I had to collect food scraps from the floor and sleep in the same room with ten Hamas terrorists. I tried with all my strength to help the hostages who were with me - some of them don't even know what happened to their family members, and these thoughts are killing them more and more each day. Eight of the hostages I met along the way are no longer alive.
“President-elect Trump, please, I'm pleading [with] you to maintain focus on the hostage crisis. They must not be forgotten. For each of them - women, men, elderly and two young children - any day could be their last. We must do everything in our power to bring them home now."