In an Op-Ed Thursday for CNN, Ofri Bibas Levy, aunt to the two child hostages Kfir and Ariel Bibas, asked, "Why have the mothers and fathers of the world forgotten about the child hostages?"
The Bibas brothers, Kfir (1) and Ariel (4) were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 and were taken along with their mother, Shiri, into Gaza.
They were supposed to be released during the November ceasefire-hostage release deal, but at the last minute, Hamas went back on their agreement and refused to release them.
Ofri asks "Why keep our babies?"
Ofri's brother and father of the children, Yarden, was also kidnapped to Gaza and separated from his family.
Yarden was forced to undergo psychological torment when Hamas forced him to be filmed announcing that Israel had killed his family.
"Has this become the world’s new normal? Is it no longer barbaric to take children as hostages?" Ofri asks, wondering how it has become acceptable to take child hostages and not have the weight of world opinion come crashing down on you.
They hear your silence
She muses that the world's (lack of) response to the kidnapping and horse-trading of children is sending a signal to terror groups worldwide that this is now more acceptable to the world community than it had appeared.
"They hear your silence, and they are taking notes."
She concludes by saying "I fear that my unborn son will never meet his uncle, aunt, and redheaded cousins. I fear that he will be born into a world where taking children hostage is accepted. But I still have hope."
With a final plea, she says "Call your congressional representative, urge them to keep the hostages top of mind. Share the hostages’ plight on your social network. We desperately need your help. It shouldn’t need to be said that this is not the world our children should grow up in."