NEW YORK (1010 WINS/880WCBS) -- Jonathan Dekel-Chen's son Sagui woke up early on Oct. 7 to tend to a pet project on the family's Israel kibbutz. He was soon faced with a group of Hamas terrorists.
Sagui, 35, and other early-risers alerted the community's volunteer security team of Hamas' presence as soon as possible, allowing some members of the community to reach bomb shelters. Sagui joined the team in their confrontation of Hamas, Dekel-Chen said.
The security team combatted with Hamas while waiting for support from the Israeli army, but, according to Dekel-Chen, it took nine hours for reinforcements to arrive.
In this time the kibbutz was destroyed and dozens of Israelis were killed, with many others, like Sagui, missing and presumed to be captives of Hamas in Gaza.
Sagui is the father of two daughters, 6 and 3, and his wife is seven months pregnant.
"It's important to note that of these … captives, they're not all [35-year-olds] like my son, these are 10-month-old babies, 88-year-old grandmothers who are bound to wheelchairs and everything in between. This was an unprecedented act of brutality," Dekel-Chen told 1010 WINS' Samantha Liebman.
Following the attack, Dekel-Chen – a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who moved to Israel as a young adult after growing up in Bloomfield, CT – was relocated to Eilat, the southernmost city in Israel, alongside other survivors of the attack, where they now wait for information regarding their missing loved ones.
As Israel launches counterattacks in Gaza, Dekel-Chen expressed a request to the Israeli government on behalf of the affected families: "While surely there can be no doubt that Hamas must be destroyed, we desperately want that the well-being of our loved ones in Hamas captivity will be a priority as our army conducts its campaign against Hamas."
Dekel-Chen, a dual Israeli and American citizen, also stated his gratitude for the support Israel has received from the United States government, noting that communications from the State Department have given him "absolute faith" that the U.S. will do everything it can to locate and return missing Israelis.
Dekel-Chen has one message for his son: "We will get you home. I don't know how yet, but we will get you home. Hang in there."
