WASHINGTON—The second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel coincided with the first day of Sukkot, a seven-day holiday Jews commemorate by constructing huts outdoors.
To mark this dual observance, the Hostages & Missing Families Forum on Tuesday hosted a “Sukkah of Hope” event at The Kennedy Center. The Sukkah will be up on Tuesday and Wednesday for events commemorating the tragedy, and the “EDUT: The Visual Testimony of October 7” exhibit will be open at the venue until the end of the month, according to a news release.
“We remember the innocent concert goers who were violently murdered by Hamas,” Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell said in a statement. “And we remember the families who are still waiting for their loved ones to be returned.”
Tuesday’s event comes amid cautious optimism about a deal to stop the fighting between Israel and Hamas, which could include the remaining release of 48 hostages. Twenty of the hostages are presumed to be still alive, according to the United Nations, as advocates are still demanding the opportunity for a proper burial for deceased hostages.
“We need to have the hostages released so we can move forward,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said at the event, which he and his wife’s foundation helped lead.
Survivors of the October 7 attack, including freed hostage Keith Siegel, noted how the captors had “absolute power” over their lives and recounted how he was “starved, denied water, beaten” and faced horrific living conditions.
President Donald Trump has been pushing for a possible deal to end the war, saying in a Truth Social Post on Sunday that steps are being taken to “release the hostages, end the War in Gaza but, more importantly, finally have long sought PEACE in the Middle East.”
Specifically, Trump noted that there have been conversations “with Hamas” and with different countries, including those from the Arab and Muslim world.
“The technical teams will again meet Monday, in Egypt, to work through and clarify the final details. I am told that the first phase should be completed this week, and I am asking everyone to MOVE FAST. I will continue to monitor this Centuries old “conflict.” TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE OR, MASSIVE BLOODSHED WILL FOLLOW — SOMETHING THAT NOBODY WANTS TO SEE!” the president wrote.
The potential peace agreement is bringing renewed attention from Americans to the issue, which Yotam Cohen, brother of hostage Nimrod Cohen, says people are hoping for.
“First of all, I think the most important thing right now is that the Israelis want this war to end,” Cohen told The Daily Wire at a press conference following the event.
Cohen added that the majority of Israelis “want this bloodshed to end.”
“For the hostages, for the Israeli soldiers, for the people of Israel, and also people who are thinking on the other side, on peace in the Middle East, and the Palestinians who are suffering. And we’ve come here not as politicians, not to promote some grand idea, but to fight for life, to save lives, to fight for humanity,” Cohen added.
“Our loved ones suffered that day and are victims of the seventh of October. And we came here to stop this cycle of violence and to whoever is trying to see what the people of Israel truly want.”
