An American family whose loved ones told them they were about to be murdered by Hamas during a heartbreaking phone call have been informed their relatives are alive in a beacon of hope to dozens of distraught families.

Jay Zeitchek, 70, who lives in New Jersey, told DailyMail.com that the last words his family heard from their relatives in Israel as savage terrorists descended on their home were: ‘I don’t think we can survive, I love you.’

They were then seen being taken hostage by gunmen in a chilling video circulating on social media.

The six members of Jay’s family, including three-year-old twins, were among hundreds terrorized by Hamas as militants gassed, burned and slaughtered innocent civilians at Nir Oz kibbutz on Saturday morning.

It is thought more than a quarter of the community of 400 were killed.

The family of Jay Zeitchek, from New Jersey, were seen being taken hostage by Hamas in a terrifying video circulating on social media. The hostages are: Amelia Alony (top left), twins Emma and Julie (top right), with their mother Sharon Cunio (bottom left), father David Cunio (center), and Danielle Alony, mother of Amelia (bottom right)

The family had been together at a wedding in New York in August. Pictured from left to right: Jay’s son, Justin, Sharon Cunio, and far right Jay’s daughter, Alana, who had earlier put out an appeal for information after Sharon and her family were taken hostage

Jay (second from right), with his Israeli wife, Rachel, (far right) and their son Justin and his wife Becky

Jay’s niece, Sharon Cunio, 35, her husband David, 35, and their twins Emma and Julie, were left cowering in a bomb shelter for hours as Hamas set fire to their neighbor’s home and began to smoke them out of their hiding place.

Alongside them were Danielle Alony, 43, Sharon’s elder sister, and her daughter Amelia, 5.

Alana Zeitchek, Jay’s daughter, put out an appeal for information on US television on Thursday after spotting her relatives in a hostage video on social media.

She said she had been on a phone call with her family as Hamas set fire to their neighbor’s home.

‘Their house and their bomb shelters were filled with smoke,’ Alana, who lives in Brooklyn, New York, told ABC. ‘And this is what these terrorists had been doing. They were smoking people out as if they were rodents. And the smoke was starting to fill into the bomb shelter and on the phone with my aunt, my cousin said I don’t think we can survive. I love you and that was the last contact we’ve had with them.’

Alana posted a picture of her ‘beautiful family’ on Instagram, alongside the caption: ‘When it comes to families I won the lottery with mine, and the love I have for them is immeasurable. On Saturday, Kibbutz Nir Oz was ravaged by terrorists and they were taken hostage by genocidal savages.

‘A video began floating around on the news of hostages in a truck and we spotted them — I can see David crouched down holding one of their baby girls and I see Sharon and her hair from the back as she holds onto little Amelia so tightly.

‘This horrific scene will not stop replaying in my mind, alongside the memory of the back of her head just over a month ago in my kitchen while we laughed as I curled her hair for my brother’s wedding.

‘The agony I feel is nothing compared to what my aunt and uncle and their brother and in-laws are feeling, and the terror of which my cousins and their babies are experiencing is simply inconceivable. Please share their story, pray for their safe return and for the people of Israel.’

But Jay said Friday that the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) had informed them that all six were alive, although did not reveal any further information or their sources.

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‘The most important thing is that they’re alive,’ Jay added. ‘I have to have faith, and my family has to have faith, that they’re going to come home to us.’

The 70-year-old admitted he was fearful of what Hamas may do to their hostages should they begin to feel that Israel was about to ‘wipe them off the face of the eart’, but said he believed ‘in the power of positive thinking’.

‘I believed from the beginning that they were alive,’ he added. ‘Even though you’re dealing with irrational characters, that the hostages are taken for a reason.’

It comes amid growing fears for the fate of those being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza as Israel intensifies its bombing campaign on the territory.

The military wing of Hamas said the latest air strikes had killed 13 of the captives it brought back from Israel.

Nir Oz, which lies a miles and a half from the border with Gaza, is one of several communities where Hamas massacred entire families in the deadliest attack on the Jewish community since the Holocaust.

The usually peaceful settlement of around 400 people woke to ‘a kibbutz in flames’ on Sunday morning after the barbaric assault, with blood curdling stories of atrocities emerging in the morning haze.

Many have not received the hopeful news that Alana received Friday, with another Israeli-American family telling of the devastating final texts of their loved ones who were burned alive in their homes.

Carol Simian Tov, 70, was killed on Saturday at the kibbutz Nir Oz where she lived with her family. Her son, his wife, and their three children were also killed

Tamar Kedem-Siman Tov with her husband Johnny and their five-year-old daughters Shachar and Arbel, and their two-year-old son Omer. They were murdered on Saturday

Johnny Siman Tov, 36, and his wife Tamar Kedem-Simian Tov, 35; their three children aged between two and five, and Johnny’s mother Carol Simian Tov, 70, were all killed on Saturday.

As Hamas terrorists advanced on their homes, Tamar initially texted relatives in Australia reassuring them that they were safe, before their messages turned to horror.

‘They’re here. They’re burning us. We’re suffocating,’ Johnny told his sister, Ranae Butler, who lives in Israel.

Carol had fled to her own home with her dog Charlie as Hamas advanced.

She was shot dead in her own safe room.

Two of Carol’s daughters and two of her sons survived the attack on the kibbutz, plus their father, Larry Butler.

One of the sons, Shachar Butler, who was head of security for the kibbutz, was shot in the attack but is recuperating.