A Massachusetts man said Friday that two of his five family members who were abducted during Hamas' invasion of Israel are dead.
Jason Greenberg of Needham has been among the families waiting to find out the fate of their loved ones who were taken hostage after the Palestinian militant group launched its surprise attack on Oct. 7.
When Greenberg spoke to NBC10 Boston last week, he knew his great aunt, cousin and three of her kids had been taken, but he learned just this week that two of them had been killed, and he believes he know why.
“Carmella would’ve turned 80 on Tuesday and she had a heart condition. She wakes slowly. Noya is on the autism spectrum. When she gets upset, she screams and stays in place, so they were slowing down Hamas," he shared. "They killed them. Like dead weight. Without a care.”
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Now, he's constantly considering the state of the other three family members who were abducted.
“My cousin Zahar, a 16-year-old beautiful girl, we all try to redirect our mind to what she must be going through right now,” he explained.
Greenberg had previously told NBC10 Boston that video online confirmed his 12-year-old cousin was taken by Hamas.
"He loves soccer. He loves Liverpool. He plays," Greenberg said. "He's actually a pretty good kid. He listens to his mom. He listens to his dad."
Greenberg was going to see his family the day Hamas attacked. He rushed to the airport with his 79-year-old father and they could only find a flight to Rome and then to Boston.
“We literally were in a taxi to the airport watching the Iron Dome shoot down missiles that were being fired into Israel," he shared.
Greenberg, back in the U.S., says, "Upon receiving the news and ever since, I’ve felt a terrible, terrible relief for them. Knowing that they died that fateful Saturday morning means that they haven’t been enduring the same perils the rest of the hostages have for the past 14 days.”
