Relatives of the seven Israeli-American hostages still held in Gaza will attend the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump on January 20, hoping that the new leader’s strong stance will help finally bring about a deal for their release.
The families announced their visit in a joint statement Thursday. During their stay in Washington, they will also meet officials from the new administration as well as members of Congress and their aides, they said.
“Families urge leaders to prioritize the safe return of their loved ones and take decisive action to end their prolonged captivity,” they said.
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The parents of the hostage Edan Alexander, the parents and brother of Omer Neutra, killed and taken hostage, the parents of Itay Chen killed and taken hostage, the father of the hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen and the daughter of Gad Haggaï and Judith Weinstein, killed and kidnapped, will attend the ceremony.
Former hostage Aviva Siegel, whose husband Keith Seigel is still in Gaza, will also attend the ceremony along with their daughter and Keith’s sister.
The parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was brutally executed by his captors along with five other hostages while held by the Palestinian terror group Hamas in late August, will also visit the investiture ceremony.
This combination of six undated photos of the hostages, top left, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi; bottom left, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lubnov, and Carmel Gat. (Credit: Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing via AP)
This week, Trump reiterated his warning that “all hell will break loose” in the Middle East if the hostages are not freed before his January 20 inauguration.
The new president has repeatedly used the phrase “hostage release” as talks continue toward a hostage release deal and ceasefire, although he has at times appeared to indicate that it referred to people with American citizenship rather than to all hostages.
“We want these hostages back, for Israel and for us. We have citizens who are hostages, who are detained,” he said at a press conference Tuesday.
“If this deal is not reached with our nation’s representatives before I take office, all hell is going to break loose,” Trump said.
“It won’t be good for Hamas, and frankly, it won’t be good for anyone. »
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was supposed to travel for Trump’s second inauguration. However, a senior adviser to the prime minister said Thursday he would likely not be among world leaders attending the ceremony at the Capitol.
Trump and his team are not yet officially participating in the ongoing negotiations, but they are cooperating with the outgoing administration, and the new US envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, has visited the region several times since his appointment in november. He was due to travel this week to Qatar, where talks on the release of the hostages are taking place.
The seven hostages of American nationality are among the 98 captives remaining in Gaza, the vast majority of whom were kidnapped during the pogrom perpetrated by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas on October 7, 2023 in southern Israel, during which more than 1 200 people were killed and 251 others kidnapped and forcibly taken to the enclave.
An electronic billboard showing the image of US President-elect Donald Trump and referencing his threat to unleash hell if hostages held in Gaza are not released before his inauguration later this month, in Tel Aviv, in Israel, January 8, 2025. (Credit: Oded Balilty/AP)
At least 34 of the hostages captured that day were confirmed dead by the Israeli army, which announced Wednesday that it had recovered the body of Youssef Ziyadne, 53, and had grave fears for the fate of his son Hamza Ziyadne, 22 years.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said mediators were “very close” to reaching a ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas, although finalization would be likely to wait until the next administration takes office to be finalized.
The plan unveiled by US President Joe Biden in May 2023 was an Israeli proposal that provided for a release of the hostages in three stages. Today, however, the United States, Qatar and Egypt are primarily focused on completing the first phase of this framework, in which female hostages, the elderly and those seriously ill would be released in exchange hundreds of Palestinian prisoners incarcerated for endangering security in Israel, a partial withdrawal of the IDF from the Gaza Strip and a massive influx of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
The talks, which are said to be close to an agreement, are blocked on essential questions. Hamas said it would only release its remaining hostages if Israel agreed to end the war and withdraw all its troops from the Gaza Strip. Israel says it will not end the war until the Palestinian terror group is dismantled and all hostages are released.
Protesters calling for action to secure the release of hostages in Gaza, in front of the Defense Ministry headquarters, in Tel Aviv, January 4, 2025. (Credit: Jack Guez/AFP)
Another problem concerns the hostages who would be released during the first phase. Netanyahu’s office says it has yet to receive any list from Hamas, which it says is a precondition for moving forward with the deal. Media reports claimed the Palestinian terror group had approved a list of 34 names, but Israel says it has yet to receive any official list. The families of the hostages fear that in the event of a gradual agreement, only the first part will be completed and that the hostages remaining in Gaza will be detained indefinitely.
Hamas freed 105 civilians during a week-long truce at the end of November 2023. Four hostages were released previously.
Eight hostages were rescued alive by troops, and the bodies of 40 hostages were also brought back, three of whom were mistakenly killed by the Israeli army while trying to escape their captors.
The Palestinian terrorist group also holds two Israeli civilians who entered the Gaza Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.
