As I write this letter, 692 days have passed since Oct. 7, 2023, a day that shattered the lives of thousands and left a wound that continues to bleed. While the headlines may have moved on, and the world’s attention has been pulled in countless directions, the truth remains: there are still people — men, women, and children — being held captive by Hamas in Gaza. They cannot be forgotten.

In recent months and weeks, many opinion letters and guest columns have featured the plight of this war on Gazans. While the suffering of all innocent people is truly heartbreaking, I believe it is equally important to remember innocent Israelis who were stolen from their country and taken as hostages into the tunnels of Gaza. In the nearly two years since the atrocities of Oct. 7, 2023, too little, but factual information has surfaced and been reputably published about the conditions of these hostages, while in captivity …beyond horrific.

As a Jew, and as a human being, my heart aches with every passing day. Each one of them —every name and every face — is a world unto themselves, a person with a family, with hopes and dreams, whose life has been suspended in a nightmare for nearly two years. Their families live in a constant state of agonizing uncertainty, a pain that is unimaginable to most of us.

We must not allow their suffering to become another statistic, another line in a history book. The silence that has fallen over their plight is deafening. It is a moral failure to look away, to become numb to the ongoing tragedy. The hostages are not political pawns; they are innocent people. Their release should be a global priority, a demand that transcends politics and borders.

I urge our community, our leaders, and the world to remember them. Speak their names. Share their stories. Let their faces be a constant reminder of the urgent need for action. Let us all, regardless of our background, stand in solidarity with the families who are still waiting, still hoping, and still counting the days. May they all be reunited with their loved ones, and may their long, agonizing wait finally come to an end.

Veronica Darmon

Northampton