Thousands of people on Friday attended a rally in front of the United Nations headquarters in New York to call for a hostage release-ceasefire deal in Gaza.
The rally, which coincided with the start of the 79th UN General Assembly this week, called for world leaders to pay attention to the plight of the captives held in Gaza by Hamas and featured speeches from released hostages and relatives of those still in captivity.
“Despite the hostages’ nearly year-long captivity—in violation of international law and without access to Red Cross visits or essential medical care—their plight remains conspicuously absent from the Assembly’s agenda,” said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, adding that it was demanding a deal “that will put an end to the ongoing suffering and pain in the region.”
The rally also featured speeches by New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, and was attended by “hundreds of organizations and synagogues” the Hostages Families Forum said.
During the rally, an interfaith prayer for the safe return of the hostages was held by New York priests and rabbis.
