Anderson Cooper broke down live on air after watching a broadcast of an interview with the family of an Israeli hostage captured by Hamas militants during the violence that erupted in over the weekend.
After airing a clip of Yifat Zeiler on Monday afternoon, the CNN host—broadcasting live from Tel Aviv—remained silent for 15 seconds while visibly trying to hold back tears, at one point turning away from the camera. When he regained his composure to introduce the next segment, his voice warbled and croaked.
Zeiler's cousin, Shiri Bibas, along with her two children—one of whom is 9 months old—were identified in footage posted on social media showing them imprisoned by militants. Shiri's parents, Yossi and Margit Silberman, are also missing, presumed captured from the Nahal Oz kibbutz, located close to the border with Gaza.
"We need everyone to help us," Zeiler had implored CNN viewers, before apologizing for becoming emotional.
Footage which has been circulating online since the weekend shows Shiri holding her two children while visibly distressed while armed militants converse around her.
"I just hope that they are alive, and that they are together," Zeiler told The New York Times on Monday. "And I want them home, with me, so I can hug them tightly again."
She added: "We feel that those responsible don't know what to do, because this is a situation we've never been in before. That's the feeling in Israel. It's a catastrophe."
During the infiltration of Israeli settlements near the border, Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants took civilian hostages, demanding the release of all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Since then, Hamas has warned it would kill civilians if Israel conducted airstrikes without warning civilians first.
Among the chaos, it is unclear who of those missing may be dead and who have been taken hostage. Those captured are thought to be of various nationalities, including several Americans.
Preliminary reports, that have not been confirmed by the Israeli government, suggest that at least 150 individuals have been taken. On Monday, a senior Hamas official said more than 100 were being held hostage in the Gaza Strip, in addition to at least 30 held by Islamic Jihad militants.
U.S. President Joe Biden warned on Monday that American citizens may be among those captured, while Russia's ambassador to Israel said on Tuesday that four of its citizens were unaccounted for. Some Mexicans and Brazilians are also thought to be held, though the majority of the hostages are likely Israeli.
Update 10/10/23, 9:53 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to include further information.
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Aleks Phillips is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter based in London. His focus is on U.S. politics and the environment. ... Read more
