In remarks from the White House Tuesday, President Joe Biden said 14 Americans were killed in the assault and others were taken hostage. The number remains unclear, but national security adviser Jake Sullivan said 20 or more Americans remain unaccounted for, though that doesn't mean all are being held captive.
At least one New Jersey resident, currently serving in the IDF, is among the missing, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy revealed on Tuesday night.
Unconfirmed reports add that two more are also missing and that one has been killed. However, Governor Murphy did not confirm this, saying only that "his administration is closely monitoring the developments out of Israel to determine whether any New Jersey residents were killed or kidnapped."
At a candlelight vigil in support of Israel Tuesday evening in Hoboken, Gov. Murphy said he spoke with the parents of Edan Alexander, who told him their son was stationed near the Gaza border and is missing.
Edan Alexander, a 19 year old, 2022 Tenafly High School graduate, is part of the Golani Brigade 51st Division and was serving near the Gaza Strip at the time of the attack.
“We pray for his swift safe return, and we pray for every family in New Jersey and across the country with loved ones who are still unaccounted for,” Murphy said.
The governor added that his administration is working with county and local law enforcement leaders to increase patrols and security in sensitive areas throughout the state including at federations, schools, day care centers and houses of worship.
At a separate event at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said that two Bergen County natives are confirmed among the missing.
Platkin did not give any details about the missing.
"I never saw atrocities like those we were forced to see in the past few days. I woke up Saturday morning to a horror show," Platkin said. "It was terrorism plain and simple. There were two Bergen County men who are missing. Let us demand their return."
Laor Abramov, 20, a former New Jersey resident, has been missing since he called his family from a party that was disrupted by gunfire, according to reports by CBS and other news organizations.
Nancy Dubin, a cantor with Temple Beth Rishon in Wyckoff told NorthJersey.com that she hasn't heard from her 20 year old son Ari, a soldier in the Israeli army, since Saturday.
He said, "I'm not going to have my phone for 36 hours," but he promised he would call her as soon as he could, she recalled.
She's been waiting ever since.
Meanwhile, The Daily Beast reported Tuesday night that New Jersey-born Itay Glisko, who was also serving in the Israel Defense Forces, was killed in the attack by Hamas, according to a family member.
His cousin, Eyal Glisko, told the website that the family learned of the death Tuesday evening after a four-day wait.
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