An orphaned American girl is among those being held hostage in Gaza after terrorists murdered her parents - as Senator Kirsten Gillibrand vows to bring all US citizens home.
Abigail Mor Edan, 3, who is both an American and Israeli citizen, was living in Israel when murderous terrorists from Gaza stormed her home in Kibbutz Kfar Azza on fateful October 7.
They murdered her parents - shooting dead her father while she was still in his arms - but the little girl knew enough amid the panic to run to her neighbor's for shelter.
Vowing to bring her home, Kirsten Gillibrand said: 'I met with the families of hostages being held by Hamas terrorists, including of Abigail Mor Edan.
'And I made a promise to them: We will go to the ends of the earth to bring their loved ones home.'
Abigail's six-year-old sister Amalia and 10-year-old brother Michael also witnessed Hamas come into their home and murder their mother on October 7.
Abigail Mor Edan, 3, has both American and Israeli citizenship and was living in Israel when terrorists from Gaza stormed her kibbutz, Kfar Azza, on fateful October 7
Abigail's parents were murdered by Hamas - shooting dead her father while she was still in his arms - but the little girl knew enough amid the panic to run to her neighbor's for shelter
The two children ran to find their father, who was outside holding Abigail.
They started fleeing to shelter, but a Hamas terrorist then killed their father Roy.
The older children then ran back into their house, where their mother's lifeless body was, and locked themselves in a closet. They hid there for 14 hours until they were rescued by a relative and brought to a shelter.
Abigail, the youngest sibling, somehow managed to find her way to her neighbor.
The Brodutch family took Abigail in as the rampage started. The mother Hagar, her three children, and Abigal then disappeared.
It was confirmed that the five of them were among the 200 Israelis dragged to Gaza by bloody Hamas terrorists to be held captive on Israel's bloodiest day.
Abigail's father Roy Edan, 43, a photojournalist, and his wife Smadar Edan, 40, were buried October 20.
Abigail's brave sibling Michael, 10, made a chilling phone call to his grandfather Carmel while they were trapped inside the closet.
He said: 'Grandpa, terrorists killed dad outside the house, they killed mom and Abigail inside. I'm alone with Amalia.'
Abigail, the youngest sibling, somehow managed to find her way to her neighbor. She is now being held captive in Gaza with Hamas terrorists
Vowing to bring her home , Kirsten Gillibrand said: 'I met with the families of hostages being held by Hamas terrorists, including of Abigail Mor Edan. And I made a promise to them: We will go to the ends of the earth to bring their loved ones home'
After buring Abigail's mother and father, her grandfather Carmel Edan said: 'We are in absolute shock. Roy and Smadar, if you knew how brave your children, Michael and Amalia, were, you'd be so proud of them.
'The children witnessed the horror in their home, how Smadar was brutally taken from us. They hid in a safe room for 14 hours until they were rescued.
'It reminds me of how, 80 years ago, children used to hide in attics and cellars.
'Our little granddaughter, Abigail the three-year-old who is not with us, we won't rest until we see her again.'
Little Abigail's great aunt, Elizabeth Naftali, told Grazia: 'We're yet to hear anything about where Abigail is, the conditions she's living in or when she may be released. It's absolutely unbearable.
'To lose my niece and her husband, to know there's a little girl who is alone somewhere, there is no pain like it.
'Abigail is such a beautiful child, very smart and independent. Her wonderful mother was a thoughtful, intelligent woman and she had raised these three incredible children.'
Naftali is an LA-based real estate developer, who was recently subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee in their investigation into Hunter Biden, after she bought his artwork and visited the White House several times.
She continued: 'Abigail is three, and while she no longer has parents, she has a huge extended family full of love: grandparents who cherish her and her siblings. When she's returned to us, she'll stay with them.
Little Abigail's great aunt, Elizabeth Naftali, is an LA-based real estate developer
Last week, I met with the families of hostages being held by Hamas terrorists, including the family of 3-year-old Abigail Mor Edan.
And I made a promise to them: We will go to the ends of the earth to bring their loved ones home. #BringThemHomeNow pic.twitter.com/Id4nnd45Jz
Following the death of Israeli news photographer Roy Edan and his wife Smadar, Edan's father sits next to the couples' graves during their funeral in Kfar Harif, Israel, on October 20
U.S. Senator Susan Collins, right, holds a picture of kidnapped Israeli girl Abigail Mor Edan
Friends and family mourn Smadar Edan and Roy Edan, who were killed following the deadly infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip
'All I want to do is hug that little girl and tell her she is loved and that her older siblings are desperate for her return.
'They're devastated and in shock, they've lost everything in one breath – but they hold out hope that Abigail will be back with them soon. We all do.'
Abigail's aunt, Tal Edan, said: 'She's a baby, just 3 years old, and she's all alone. Maybe she was with a neighbor, but I don't know if they're still together.
'She has no one. She comes into my dreams. She comes into every conversation we're having here.
'Everyone keeps asking about her how was her night was, if there is anyone holding her. Because she is all alone.'
Taking civilians hostage is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.
But taking children hostage in a war is almost never done, said Danielle Gilbert, assistant professor of political science at Northwestern University, who has interviewed hundreds of captors and hostages in different countries.
The reasoning is brutal. Abductors see value in live hostages, typically men ages 18 to 65. Children are less likely to survive the ordeal.
Gilbert said: 'Holding onto someone vulnerable and not predisposed to surviving in those conditions will make the kidnappers' job more difficult. It remains to be seen whether Hamas intended to take this wide a range of hostages.'