Congressional Latino-Jewish Caucus Leaders Meet with Families of Remaining Hostages held by Hamas

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today, Co-Chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Latino-Jewish Caucus Representatives Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL), Debbie Wasserman Shultz (D-FL), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), and Tony Gonzales (R-TX), issued the following statement after meeting with families and friends of hostages who remain held captive by Hamas:

"Today, as co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Latino-Jewish Caucus, we had the solemn opportunity to meet with families and friends of hostages held in Gaza, many who are dual citizens from Argentina, Colombia, and other Latin American countries, and who are still being held by Hamas terrorists," said the Members. "We were appalled by the horrific stories of October 7 that we heard from the group and the mistreatment suffered by those kidnapped. As Members of Congress, we stand in bipartisan and unwavering solidarity with the hostages and call for their immediate release. With the rise of antisemitism and hate crimes globally, terrorism, sexual violence against women, and over a hundred hostages still held in Gaza, the work to combat these evils is even more urgent. We remain resolved in our commitment to continue our collective efforts to work toward the return and reunification of the hostages with their families."

Below is the list of the hostages whose families and friends attended the meeting:

• Omri Miran (46), Israeli-Hungarian dual citizen

• Elkana Bohbot (34), Israeli-Colombian dual citizen 

• Tal Shoham (30), Israeli-Austrian dual citizen

• Alexander (Sasha) Troponov (27), Israeli-Russian dual citizen 

• Sagui Dekel-Chen (35), Israeli-American dual citizen

• Eitan Horan (37) and Yair Horan (45), Israeli Argentinian dual citizens

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Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his fourth term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government's vital activities and serves as Ranking Member of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee of the committee during the 118th Congress. He is also a member of the House Budget Committee and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), where he serves in a leadership role as the Deputy Chair as well as Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI). Rep. Espaillat is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/.

Media inquiries: Candace Person at [email protected]