As Israeli army ground units prepare for their assault into Gaza, a diplomatic offensive is being mounted by the families of those Israeli men, women, and children kidnapped and murdered by Hamas on October 7.

Organized by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, and two non-governmental organizations, the Ami Initiative and Gesher, the delegation arrived in Rome on Tuesday for talks with Italian Government officials, parliamentarians, and leaders of the local Jewish community.

Ilan Regev is the father of 18-year-old Itai Regev and 21-year-old Mia Regev, both of whom were kidnapped by terrorists at the desert rave party near Kibbutz Reim. Before boarding the plane at Ben Gurion Airport, Mr. Regev explained “our ultimate goal is to bring our children back home and save their lives.”

“By spreading the truth and explaining to the world that our innocent children and citizens are being held against their will, I hope international pressure will assist us in the immediate return of our children whole and healthy,” he said.

Another delegation member is Yuval Danzig, whose 75-year-old Holocaust survivor father, Alex Danzig, was also snatched by Hamas terrorists from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. Yuval Danzig was in telephone contact with his father during the early morning hours of October 7.

By 9 a.m., though, Alex Danzig’s phone fell silent. According to a later briefing by Israel’s Shin Bet security service, Alex Danzig was by that time being marched into Gaza at gunpoint.

Also present at the delegation’s departure ceremony was Israel’s diaspora affairs minister, Amichai Shikli, a former special forces operator himself.

“We will turn every stone to exert international pressure for the release of hostages and to allow the IDF and the State of Israel to receive broad international support in the war against Hamas,” Mr. Shikli said.