Alana Zeitchik has seen her life completely change since Oct. 7, when she learned that her family was taken hostage on the day that Hamas attacked Israel.  

Her last contact with her family was a string of voice notes in a WhatsApp chat between Zeitchik’s loved ones. It detailed Hamas militants entering the home where six of Zeichik’s family hid.  

"My cousin Sharon and her husband David and their twins Emma and Julie, they live on a Kibbutz called Nir Oz which is just under two miles from the border of Gaza so were always very concerned for them. My cousin Danielle was visiting with her 5-year-old daughter, so she just happened to be there,” said Alana Zeitchik.  

She says she usually spends her summers in Israel and last saw her cousin Sharon in August. The Israeli Defense Force later confirmed that all six members of the Zeitchik family in that home were taken hostage.  

Now, Alana and her brother are spending every day working to return her family back home, even working with the United Nations to do so.  

"Our plight is getting lost, and it's not being heard. We really just need help to uplift our voices, to uplift our stories. It's not just 240 faces. These are people with families to come back to. Who are innocent people who deserve to live,” said Alana Zeitchik.