FAIRFAX, Va. — A Fairfax County native living in Israel says her relatives were among the people taken hostage by Hamas fighters following the raids on southern Israel. Now, she has a message for Americans.
Abbey Onn has lived with her husband at their home north of Tel Aviv for eight years, after being raised in northern Virginia. On Saturday, she said she started receiving Whatsapp messages from cousins telling them that Hamas was in their kibbutz.
"They could hear gunfire and that they were scared for their lives," Onn said.
Five relatives who live in Nir Oz, a Southern Israel community near the Gaza border, have not been accounted for. Among the presumed kidnapped is her 80-year-old grandmother Carmela Dan and a 12-year-old relative, Erez Kalderon.
"We have video of the 12-year-old in hands of Hamas, so we believe that they are in Gaza and being held hostage," Onn said.
The video that is being shared on social media, shows a boy being taken by armed men. Onn says that is the last piece of information they have of the family. She is hoping that they are together and alive.
"We never in our life expected or experienced 3,000 terrorists coming by land, sea, and air to rape and murder and take hostage civilians," Onn said.
She said her immediate family is safe, but they are running on adrenaline as they hear air sirens, sonic booms, and are forced to hide in bomb shelters.
Onn had an ask for Americans watching from afar as war unfolds: speak out on behalf of those who can't.
"What we see in the streets right now with pro-Hamas rallies, it's horrifying for us," she said. It feels like a Holocaust so we want people to speak on behalf of civilians."
Onn added that for those who want to physically help, the donations needed most are supplies for soldiers and food for those who are cut off from resources.
"If in speaking ... I can convince [someone[ that they should use their voice to bring innocent civilians home, then that's the best we can do," Onn said.