Families of hostages called for a complete deal that would see the return of all remaining 50 hostages in a rally at Washington DC on Monday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with US President Donald Trump in the White House.
“We are here to remind President Trump and PM Netanyahu that there are 50 hostages to be released. We cannot accept a deal for a partial release”, says Ilan Dalal, father of Guy Gilboa-Dalal.
He also added: “A partial deal would mean that some of the hostages will stay in the tunnels for more time, and this would be a death sentence. Please make a deal that will bring all the hostages home.”
Dozens of hostage relatives gathered today in Washington, DC to plead for a deal that “doesn’t leave anyone behind”.
In an official statement, families said: “At this pivotal moment, the families are calling on both leaders to secure a comprehensive deal that brings home all 50 remaining hostages held in Gaza”.
“With Hamas and Iran weakened, this is a rare and fast-closing window for a full resolution,” they said.
A plea to get a hostage deal that has been going on for 640 days
Families gathered with signs asking President Trump directly to help bring back the hostages, with many of them telling him to “be a hero” or “we need one big, beautiful hostage deal.”
Rotem Cooper, son of Amiram Cooper, shared: “We came here today because we understand better than ever that the only way the war ends is if we bring all the 50 hostages back.”
“After the fabulous military victories over Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas, the Middle East is at an inflection point. There is an opportunity to bring peace and prosperity to the region and achieve peace through strength," says Ruby Chen, father of Itay Chen.
Additionally, the families marked 640 days that the hostages had been abducted in Gaza.
The Government has optimism in reaching a ceasefire deal
Defense Minister Israel Katz showed an optimistic view in a briefing on Sunday and shared that there will be, at minimum, a 60-day ceasefire in the not-so-distant future, and talked in more detail than ever before about what Israel's plans for post-war Gaza might look like, even as he still preserved ambiguity on some major points.
Regarding the upcoming ceasefire, he said that it is already basically agreed that Hamas will return 10 living hostages and about half of the deceased hostages, bringing the number of hostages held by Hamas down from around 50 to around 25 (originally, there were around 250.)
Katz also said it is basically agreed that the IDF will withdraw from much of the 75% of Gazan territory which it took control over since March, and even more since May, while holding onto a security perimeter as large as or larger than what it held after the January ceasefire.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.