Released Hamas hostages and family members of those still in Gaza met with around 150 senior CEOs from the world economy on Wednesday in the town of Davos in eastern Switzerland.The meeting was organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Among the CEOs meeting with the families of hostages kidnapped by Hamas include Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky, Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell, Head of Meta's Global Business Group Nicola Mendelsohn, Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron, and Google CFO Ruth Porat.
The event took place at the World Economic Conference under the leadership of software company Palantir Technologies, whose owner and CEO, Alex Karp, is one of the biggest supporters of Israel in Silicon Valley with the support of the Israeli embassy to the UN in Geneva.
Nili Margalit and Stella Yanai, who were released from Hamas captivity, told the participants about the hostages still there and the urgent need to reach a deal that will bring them home before it's too late.
"When I was kidnapped, I was taken straight into an underground tunnel where I was held for 55 days until I was released. But most of the people I was in the tunnels with, are still held deep inside, scared and injured. By profession, I am a nurse in a children's emergency room, and I realized that there, too, I have to help and take care of those around me. But without medical supplies, this is an almost impossible task. In addition to injuries and sickness, there is not enough air to breathe and not enough food.
"The body is so weak that any disease can kill you. Imagine what it's like for an 80-year-old man with heart disease who can't hear and see well and sleeps on a mattress. I stand here before you today to testify about the hell I experienced. I am here to make their voice heard: speak up and tell their story and make sure you do everything you can to promote their release. The kidnapped could die every day! Every hour is dangerous for them."
Rachel Goldberg Poland, whose son Hirsch was kidnapped in Gaza, asked all the influential participants in the meeting to use their connections in order to promote a deal immediately and without delay that would secure the hostages' release.
Additional statements by families, released hostages
Moran Stella Yanai, who was kidnapped from the Nova party in Re'im and released from Hamas captivity, said, "I lost everything: control over my life, my freedom, my identity, my self. We cannot accept the possibility of being kidnapped from a music festival and not returning from it as a normal possibility. Because if not all the hostages return, every citizen in the world should now be afraid to go dancing at festivals! I was released, but I promised my friends I left behind in captivity that I would do everything in my power to bring them back.
"I lost everything: control over my life, my freedom, my identity, my self. We cannot accept the possibility of being kidnapped from a music festival and not returning from it as a normal possibility."
Moran Stella Yanai
"Last night, I received a message about the murder of two of my friends there, friends I was with during the dark days in Gaza. The terrorists watch television, which means that everything that happens in the world has an immediate effect on the daily lives of the hostages, and that's why I'm turning to you, I believe that you can put pressure on and lead to an end to this suffering."
Noam Perry, daughter of Haim Perry, a hostage still held by Hamas, said, "136 people are still being held captive in terrible conditions, some of them are being raped and sexually assaulted on a daily basis, and we have evidence of this.
"Four weeks ago, a video was released by Hamas showing my father, but today I don't know if he is still alive. We are hearing of moves towards a potential deal led by Qatar and the US. We need you, the most influential people in the world, the people with the power - try to imagine that it is your father or your daughter being dragged from their bedroom by terrorists and held in tunnels in Gaza for 103 days. What would you do to save them?
"Hamas's barbaric kidnapping, torture, and rape of innocent civilians are an obstacle to progress, and if we don't defeat it at the global level, Hamas will take all of humanity back hundreds of years."
Meirav Eilon Shahar, Israel's Permanent Representative to the UN, said "The Davos gathering is an opportunity to mobilize the heads of international companies to apply additional pressure for the release of all the hostages."
The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met with some of the released hostages for the first time at the World Economic Conference, most notably Margalit, Perry, and Yanai. He also called for an investigation of the sexual assault crimes committed by Hamas.