Activists from the families of abductees held a demonstration in front of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ residence in New York today. They protested Guterres’ claim that the recent attack by Hamas on October 7 did not happen in a vacuum.

As Guterres left his house, the protesters shouted at him, challenging his stance on anti-Semitism and questioning his concern for the 41 children who were kidnapped underground. The group also sang birthday songs to Emily Hand, who was celebrating her 9th birthday while being held captive by Hamas in Israel. They read the names of all 239 abductees in Gaza and mentioned Oren Shaul, Hadar Goldin, and Avra Mengistu, who are also being held in Gaza.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, had invited Guterres to a screening of “The Horror Movie,” set to take place on Monday. This event was also extended to UN ambassadors, other senior officials of the organization, and representatives from the Jewish community in New York. A few weeks ago, Thomas Hand expressed relief upon hearing that his daughter was killed and not kidnapped and tortured in Gaza. However, he later learned there had been a mistake in the identification and that his daughter was actually being held captive by Hamas.