Sara Netanyahu, wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Sunday sent an official letter to Pope Francis, asking for his assistance in the efforts to release the hostages who are being held by Hamas in Gaza.
“I am writing to you not only as the wife of Israel's prime minister but also as a mother and as a woman. On October 7, Hamas terrorists committed an unprovoked act of unparalleled cruelty, the worst savagery perpetrated against Jewish people since the Holocaust. They murdered children in front of the parents, burnt babies alive, beheaded men, raped and mutilated women,” Netanyahu wrote the Pope.
“By deliberately targeting our civilians while hiding behind their own civilians Hamas committed a double war crime. But it also committed a third crime - kidnapping innocent hostages.”
She added, “78 days after the atrocities, Hamas is still holding 129 men, women and children hostage. Many of them are wounded and sick. They suffer from hunger, and some are denied the basic medicines they need to survive.”
“The story of 25-year-old Noa Argamani illustrates this heartbreaking tragedy. Noa was snatched from a peaceful music festival that turned into a Hamas-perpetrated bloodbath. The terror in her eyes, captured on camera during her abduction, is palpable,” wrote Sara Netanyahu.
“Noa's mother, born in China, is battling stage four brain cancer. In a video message, she said, ‘I don't know how much time I have left. I wish for the chance to see my Noa at home. Noa, I want to tell you if I don't see you, please know we did everything we could to get you released fast. The whole world loves you.’"
“Your Holiness, I ask for your personal intervention in this matter. Please use your influence to demand the unconditional release of all the hostages without delay. Please also call on the Red Cross to demand to visit all the hostages at once and deliver them vital medicine. So far, the Red Cross has failed to insist on these deliverables. You intervention could tilt the balance and save precious lives,” concluded Netanyahu.