CLEARWATER, Fla. — For 15 weeks, a local chapter of the 'Run for Their Lives' organization has been walking in Clearwater to raise awareness for the hostages in Gaza. 

Team leader Wendy Hutkin said every Sunday, they start with a prayer and think back to how things started in 2023. 

“What happened on October 7th could have been my children, could have been any one of these people’s children,” she said. 

The group spends 18 minutes walking a Clearwater bridge with flags of Israel as well as other countries that still have hostages held in Gaza. 

However, when Iran launched drones on Israel Saturday, Hutkin said their walk took on even greater meaning. 

“I was at home watching the news when I saw all about the first missiles being fired over Jerusalem, which has never happened,” she said. “It’s pretty much been exhausting because myself and everybody that I know and all the people that walk with us, we are just glued to the news.”

The shock of seeing Israel’s sky lit by drones and the iron dome intercepting them reminds Hutkin why she walks. 

She said it’s because the people of Israel have the right to exist. 

“Even though we’re far away, our hearts are in Israel. Our hearts are with every one of you out there,” she said. “This is why we get up every Sunday and do what we do, and it’s not just one day a week.”

Hutkin says she knows the fight in Israel will go on, but she doesn’t want people to forget what happened Saturday or the hostages still away from their homes and families.