Ex-hostage Liri Albag detained, questioned at NY airport

A freed Israeli hostage’s long-awaited family vacation turned tense when US agents flagged her as “still kidnapped,” detaining her for questioning and seizing her cell phone upon arrival in New York.

By World Israel News Staff

A recently freed Israeli hostage, who was held by Hamas in Gaza for some 14 months, was detained by American immigration officials and questioned for an hour upon landing at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City on Sunday.

Liri Albag, a female soldier stationed at the Gaza-adjacent base of Nahal Oz, survived the massacre and was kidnapped alongside Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniela Gilboa, and Naama Levy.

Albag was freed in a February 2025 hostage deal. She was traveling to New York with her family for a vacation when she was flagged by officials after landing in New York.

Albag’s identity was called into question, as she was listed as a hostage by the American authorities and her release had not yet been registered within internal US immigration databases.

“It appeared in their system that she was still captive; they hadn’t updated their computers,” Liri’s father, Eli, told Hebrew-language media.

“They were afraid someone [else] was entering the US using her name.”

Albag was held for more than an hour and questioned by customs agents, who confiscated her cell phone.

“They took her phone but allowed her to make one call,” Albag’s father told Israel’s Channel 12 News. “She called me, and then she called her mother, Shira, who involved the IDF and many other parties.”

According to the Channel 12 report, the Israeli Consulate in New York intervened to ensure that Albag was able to continue her trip.

Consul General Ofir Akunis reportedly contacted American authorities to assure them that Albag’s identity was legitimate.

Eli Albag downplayed the significance of the incident, telling Channel 12 that the event was “behind them” and that they had reached their hotel.

“Liri isn’t stressed,” her father said. “It wasn’t pleasant — but it’s over.”