(NewsNation) — The brother-in-law of an Israeli hostage held by Hamas says his “biggest fear” is that the world will forget those still captive in Gaza as Thursday marked five months since the October 7 attack.
Moshe Lavi says he and other families of hostages won’t stop putting pressure on Israel and other world leaders to bring home those in Hamas’ captivity.
His brother-in-law, Omri Miran, was taken, along with over two hundred others, on October 7.
Lavi believes his brother-in-law is still alive.
“My biggest fear is that the world will continue to move on. That there will be normalization of the fact that a terrorist organization can simply invade a sovereign nation, kidnap its citizens and residents and even foreign tourists and hold them captive for so long,” he told NewsNation’s Nichole Berlie Friday.
“We can’t normalize this behavior,” he said.
Lavi also commended President Joe Biden for reiterating his commitment to securing the hostages during his State of the Union address Thursday and for recognizing the families in attendance.
“President Biden and his administration have been supportive of the families of hostages, and they are sending a clear message that they’re behind bringing home our loved ones, our family members,” he said.
Both Democrats and Republicans wore pins and stickers in honor of the Israeli hostages still being held captive in Gaza during the address where Biden “pledged” that he would not rest until the hostages come home.
While Lavi applauded Biden and other Israeli allies, he told Berlie that the key would be to put pressure on leaders in Qatar and Egypt to work with Hamas for the release.
“Our role as families is to pressure the policymakers to ensure that the hostages remain at the top of their agenda,” Lavi said.