Actor Richard Gere Visits Families of Hostages Held by Hamas in Gaza
by Shiryn Ghermezian
Richard Gere at the premiere of the documentary “Wisdom of Happiness A heart to heart with the Dalai Lama” as part of the 20th Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) on 10/8/2024 in Zurich. Photo: IMAGO/APress International via Reuters Connect
American actor Richard Gere met with family members of some of the 100 hostages who remain in Hamas captivity in Gaza after being kidnapped during the Palestinian terrorist organization’s deadly rampage across southern Israel in October last year.
The “Pretty Woman” star met with the families of hostages Keith Siegel, Naama Levy, and Karina Ariev, all three of whom have been held hostage in the Gaza Strip for over 433 days. The Bring Them Home initiative shared photos from the gathering on social media on Wednesday, but it is unclear where the meeting took place. The Embassy of Israel in the US thanked the Golden Globe-winning star of “Chicago” for meeting families of the hostages and told him in a post on X, “Your solidarity helps bring hope to all of us.”
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Siegel, 65, is an American citizen. His mother died last week at the age of 97 while he remains in Hamas captivity. Siegel’s wife Aviva, whom Gere met and spoke with, was also taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, and was released as part of a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas in November 2023 after 51 days in captivity.
Ariev and Levy, both of whom are 20, are two of five young women taken hostage by Hamas terrorists from the Nahal Oz army base where they were serving on Oct. 7. The others kidnapped from the army base that day include Liri Albag, Agam Berger, and Daniella Gilboa.
