Los Angeles-area relatives of Rom Braslavski — a 21-year-old Israeli being held captive by Hamas — Monday reiterated a “critically urgent” plea to the U.S. government and International Committee of the Red Cross to save him and the other surviving hostages of the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack.
During a news conference at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Yael Niinikoski again pleaded for the return of her grandson. She was joined by Braslavski’s aunt, Anat Braslavski Benmenahem.
Braslavski was a security guard at the Nova music festival in Israel when he was abducted by Hamas-led militia on Oct. 7, 2023. At the time, he stayed behind to help others and saved multiple lives before he was taken captive, according to Niinikoski.
Niinikoski said the family has lived in “silence and despair,” counting each day since Rom was taken. Earlier this month, she wrote a letter to the Red Cross, asking for help.
“My plea has now become critically urgent,” Niinikoski wrote. “We have received recent news that the group holding Rom has lost contact with him, and Rom’s whereabouts are unknown. We had also received a second … propaganda video shortly after July 30, 2025, this time showing Rom in immense physical and mental distress and hunger.
“As his grandmother, the terror I feel is indescribable. My heart is torn open each and every day since his capture and there has seldom been a day ever since when my face wasn’t wet from my tears, My mental health has been deteriorating more and more, and my only remaining wish in life is to see my grandson again.”
Niinikoski urged ICRC to do everything in its power to demand from Hamas immediate and unconditional access to Braslavski to check on his welfare, provide proof of life to alleviate the family’s distress, and to assess his medical condition.
She emphasized that ICRC’s mandate is to “protect the lives and dignity” of victims of armed conflict.
“My grandson Rom Braslavski is one of those victims,” she said. “We urge you to uphold your principles and exhaust every possible avenue to reach him.”
Jim Berk, CEO of Simon Wisenthal Center, echoed her call.
“The ICRC was created to alleviate human suffering in times of conflict and disaster, and to uphold international humanitarian law,” Berk said. “Its mandate is to protect the vulnerable, to visit hostages and prisoners and to ensure that they receive medical care and decent treatment.”
Berk said the Red Cross has been silent and absent when it comes to Braslavski and other Israeli hostages.
“That failure is not neutrality. That failure is a total abandonment of its mission. This is not only a family’s cry for help. It is a test of the world’s conscience. We must not be silent, and we will continue to stand for families like Rom’s, to press for action and to demand the dignity, care and freedom that every human being deserves, including Israeli hostages,” Berk said.
A representative for the ICRC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On the organization’s website, it states that its work is guided “solely by humanitarian needs.”
“In the occupied Palestinian territory, these needs are greater due to the different factors including higher unemployment rates, dependency on aid, and limited local capacity to respond. In contrast, Israel has stronger resources and infrastructure to address its humanitarian challenges,” according to ICRC’s website.
“During the handover of hostages, the ICRC’s role is focused on ensuring safe passage, and providing medical or logistical support. Our priority is and always will be the safe and successful release and transfer back to relevant authorities and awaiting families and loved ones.”
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, director of Global Social Action for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, thanked the women and gave his support to their cause.
“Being together with these two amazing women from Los Angeles, they’ve given us tremendous strength and clarity of purpose in the hours and days ahead,” Cooper said.
He noted that Israel is hosting an Egyptian delegation that is involved directly with negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
“So every hour, every day, every press conference, every statement, courageous statement of the past, on behalf of families, to humanize what has happened to these forgotten hostages, the living and those who are no longer alive will continue to motivate us until we have a, hopefully, positive closure,” Cooper said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will end the war if Hamas puts down its weapons and releases the remaining 50 hostages. Hamas has called for a lasting ceasefire and for Israel to withdraw from Gaza.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 Israelis and abducted 251 others. More than half the hostages were released in earlier ceasefires or other deals. Israel’s attacks, in turn, have killed 61,500 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Figures provided by the ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and run by health professionals, have been disputed by Israel.