PORTLAND, Oregon — "Bring them home."
These three simple words are what many families are demanding: for Hamas to release the more than 150 hostages still in being held captive.
"Our hope is that they will all be released, and we won't stop until that happens," said Marc Blattner, the CEO and President of The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland (JFGP).
JFGP held a ceremony on Tuesday to offer hope and solidarity for the remaining hostages and their families, where more than 100 people showed up.
"Tonight, we are here to support our family, the hostages held in Gaza. Bring our family home," said David Kosak, senior rabbi at Neveh Shalom.
Like Efrat Avsker, a Portland woman, whose 49-year-old brother Ohad Yahalomi is still among those being held.
"It was a stressful situation,” said Mark Avsker, uncle to Eitan and brother-in-law to Ohad. “There's a lot of anticipation and a lot of hope and a lot of uncertainty, so when we saw he was out, it was a relief."
That hope met with positive news on Monday when her 12-year-old nephew Eitan was released after 51 days of being captive.
“We were home in front of the TV [when we heard Eitan was released],” said Efrat. "We were extremely happy and relieved to see him coming back.”
The family said Eitan was taken hostage on Oct. 7 straight from his bed and locked into a room for two weeks. He later joined a few others that he knew who were also held captive, where he was forced to watch the horrific videos online of the war.
"It's a long way for recovery. He is in good hands now with his mother,” said Mark. “There's a lot of support from his extended family and from the whole country, actually."
The family said this has been a heartbreaking experience as they still wait for Ohad's safe release.
Efrat wants her brother to know "that I love him, that I miss him, that I am waiting for him to come back and just hold on."
While they're thankful for Eitan’s return to the family, they will not rest until every hostage is back home and safe.
"We must not forget them,” said Efrat. “We must keep demanding that Ohad and other hostages come back immediately."