Dozens of the hostages captured by Hamas gunmen during their Oct. 7 rampage through southern Israel are women and girls of all ages, from toddlers to the elderly. Their families, during a media event in Tel Aviv, urged women's groups, particularly those connected to the United Nations, to speak up and advocate for their release. They also presented some of the health issues that the female captives are dealing with: breast cancer, heart disease, diabetes, asthma. Reuma Tarshansky's teenage son was killed in the Hamas attack on their home in Kibbutz Be'eri and her daughter Gali, 13, was taken captive. The rights of Israeli women, she said, "must be equal to those of every woman in the world."

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Persons: Ammar Awad, Yarden Gonen, Romi, Gali, Ruth Halperin, Kaddari, Kinneret Stern, Moran, Joseph Campbell, Ari Rabinovitch, Sandra Maler Organizations: United Nations, REUTERS, Women, UN, Thomson Locations: Jerusalem, TEL AVIV, Gaza, Israel, Tel Aviv, Kibbutz Be'eri