The delegation of United Nations Ambassadors currently visiting Israel, led by Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan, met with siblings Maya and Itay Regev, who were kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova Music Festival and released in the November exchange. The difficult story of the Regev siblings illustrated to the UN ambassadors the events of October 7th and the situation in Israel. Maya described to the ambassadors the unimaginable cruelty of the Hamas terrorists towards her: how they abused her by hitting her injured leg while mocking and laughing at her. "The Hamas terrorists tore my clothes. They took my identity and my name from me. The terrorist who was watching over me told me every day that if the army came to save me, then he would shoot me immediately and not die alone. It is your responsibility to bring all the hostages home now. Their time is running out," Maya said to the ambassadors. Ambassador Erdan said to Maya and Itay, “You are true heroes, your courage and your strength move us all. I salute you.” During the conversation, Ambassador Erdan told the ambassadors: "Calling for a ceasefire means keeping Hamas in power. They already said they will carry out this massacre again and again as soon as they can. Their goal is to use terror against us and make us leave the country out of fear. A ceasefire is unacceptable and this week during your visit to the Gaza border and the northern border where the UN plays a significant role, I hope you will understand why we cannot continue to live with these threats and why we are so determined to destroy them.”
