U.S. State Department spokesperson Matt Miller stated on Thursday that 32 Americans have been confirmed dead in Israel with an additional 11 missing, according to ABC News. Among those killed were Itay Glisko, a New Jersey-born Israeli soldier who was filling in for a colleague when their military base was attacked. Deborah Martias, another victim, was killed as she protected her son with her own body when militants broke into their home, according to relatives. Her son was shot in the stomach but survived and hid until he was rescued. President Joe Biden has promised to allocate resources into rescuing those missing. “I have not given up hope of bringing these folks home,” he told Jewish leaders in a White House meeting last week. According to The New York Times, Chicago mom-and-daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan, who were visiting family in Israel, are among the missing, as is Long Island high school grad Omer Neutra, and Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old academic who was attending the music festival that was attacked on Oct. 7.
