Israeli Hostage Crisis
Floor Speech
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Mr. AUCHINCLOSS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Florida for her leadership on this issue.
I rise today to tell the story of Ofer Kalderon. On October 7, the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust, Ofer, along with his children Sahar, 16, and Erez, 12, was taken hostage by Hamas from the Nir Oz Kibbutz close to the Gaza Strip.
During that brutal attack, 29 of Kibbutz Nir Oz's 400 residents were murdered, and 80 were taken captive. These are not just numbers. Those residents who were murdered were individuals with hopes now extinguished, with lives now cut short.
Those taken hostage are living in unimaginable terror, and their families are waiting, hoping for good news and fearing the worst.
Ofer is a father of four, a carpenter. He loves to build and to rebuild engines, to travel, to take family camping trips, to race and ride dirt bikes, to help cook Shabbat dinner for his family.
When asked about Ofer, his family describes his easygoing energy and a huge smile.
We cannot lose sight of the fact that there is a family and a story like this one behind each one of these names of those murdered and of those taken hostage. Ofer is one of them.
Ofer's children have thankfully been returned, but their family will not be made whole again until Ofer is released, as well. His relatives are my constituents, and my office is providing any support that we can, but the ultimate responsibility is on Hamas to release Ofer and all hostages immediately and unconditionally.
I urge those terrorists to salvage a shred of humanity by releasing him and by releasing all the others held hostage, but I understand also that the hopes of finding a shred of humanity within Hamas are close to nil, which is why I remind my colleagues here today that we cannot handcuff Israel with calls for a unilateral cease-fire as they work to achieve their primary shared goal we all have: bringing all of the hostages home.
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for his remarks, and I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Ryan).
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