On Tuesday morning, a delegation of family members of the murderd and the captive Israelis, departed for Rome for meetings with the country's leadership, senior lawmakers, and key figures in the Jewish community.
The goal is to bring the Israeli hostages home from Hamas captivity in Gaza.
The delegation's additional effort is focused on maximizing media exposure and public dissemination of the truth about what happened in Israel on the "Black Saturday" of October 7th. Some members of the delegation have Italian origins and will be interviewed by major Italian channels. Currently, there are four Israelis who hold Italian citizenship in Hamas captivity, and five were murdered by the despicable terrorists.
The first delegation of public diplomacy is currently in London, where family members addressed the rally in support of Israel at Trafalgar Square, with over 15,000 participants. In addition, members of the delegation were interviewed by major media outlets in the UK and met with British parliament members.
These delegations are part of efforts by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ami Initiative and the Gesher organization to raise global awareness of the immediate need to release all hostages.
Before departing to Rome, Ilan Regev, the father of Maya and Itai, who are held captive in Gaza, stated, "Our ultimate goal is to bring our children back home and save their lives. By spreading the truth and explaining to the world that our innocent children and citizens are being held against their will, I hope international pressure will assist us in the immediate return of our children whole and healthy.”
Adar Eylon, the sister of Shira, who was murdered by Hamas terrorists at the party in Re'im, said, "I promised my sister at her funeral that I would do everything in my power to make the whole world know what she went through. The fact that an innocent woman was murdered in the forest, and countries around the world protest against us, is unbearable."
Amichai Chikli, the Minister of Diaspora Affairs, said, "The journey of the family members of captives and victims from October 7th continues to Rome, for a series of meetings with the top political leadership in the country. We will turn over every stone to exert international pressure to release the hostages and allow the IDF and the State of Israel to receive broad international support in the war against Hamas."