Families across the US and Israel continue to desperately wait for answers about their loved ones who are feared to be being held hostage by Hamas militants in the midst of escalating violence in the Middle East.
A Chicago mother and daughter who were visiting relatives in Israel, a 23-year-old festivalgoer born in California, and a New Yorker turned Israeli soldier are among the Americans still missing following the Hamas attacks on 7 October.
The Biden administration has confirmed that 27 Americans have been killed and 14 remain unaccounted for – though it is unclear how many of the 14 are being held hostage.
President Joe Biden has insisted that the US is doing everything it can “working round the clock” to bring the missing US citizens home and spoke with the families of the 14 on Friday.
“They’re going through agony not knowing what the status of their sons, daughters, husbands, wives, children, are,” he said of the call in a press conference.
