The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper: Season 2, Episode 8

2 - 8: Hostages: The Road Home

CNN Anchor and Senior Global Affairs Analyst Bianna Golodryga marks the six-month anniversary of the deadliest attack in Israel's 75-year history with an emotional episode.

Six months after Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel, Golodryga speaks with family members of some of the over 250 men, women, and children kidnapped on October 7, 2023. She speaks with parents who have seen the capture of their children in footage released on social media by Hamas and a woman who survived by barricading herself in a safe room, only to find that her children, who had been staying in their father's home nearby, had been taken. Frustrated by little movement towards a hostage deal, one of the families set up a protest station near IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv. In the past six months, some have since reunited with their missing family members, and some continue fighting.

"It is important to remember that the hostages are people with brothers and sisters, spouses, children and parents," said Golodryga. "What these families have endured is unimaginable, and I'm honored they shared their stories with CNN and the world."

Golodryga also speaks directly with released hostages about the conditions of their captivity and their emotional messages for those that they were forced to leave behind upon their release.