Families of Israeli Hostages in Gaza Appeal to Trump Ahead of Decisive Meeting
The families of Israeli hostages have urged U.S. President Donald Trump to uphold the agreement he proposed to end the war in Gaza.
This appeal came on the eve of Trump’s scheduled Monday meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In an open letter addressed to Trump, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum stated: “We respectfully ask you to stand firm against any attempts to derail the agreement you have put forward. The stakes are incredibly high, our families have waited too long, and we cannot bear any obstruction that would jeopardize this progress.”
The plea followed Trump’s recent remarks suggesting that a breakthrough in ceasefire negotiations was near, citing a 21-point plan he had presented during talks with Arab and Muslim leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
The Forum also reiterated its criticism of Netanyahu, accusing him of “sabotaging” previous ceasefire proposals throughout the two-year-long war, proposals that could have led to the release of their loved ones.
Following Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Doha earlier this month, the Forum declared in a statement: “The strike in Qatar has made it indisputably clear that there is only one obstacle to the release of the hostages and the end of the war: Prime Minister Netanyahu. Each time a deal nears, he undermines it.”
The families’ letter to Trump was published just hours before his meeting with Netanyahu at the White House, where the U.S. president is expected to push for a challenging peace plan. According to media reports, the plan includes the release of 47 hostages within the first two days of the ceasefire taking effect.
In their message, the families stated: “You alone have the power to bring this agreement across the finish line, and we are deeply grateful for your steadfast support.”
However, Netanyahu has shown no signs of optimism in recent days. In a defiant speech at the United Nations on Friday, he vowed to “complete the mission” against Hamas and pledged to block the creation of a Palestinian state, recently recognized by several major Western nations.
The Israeli prime minister appears determined to continue the military offensive in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced by weeks of heavy bombardment.
The families of the hostages have urged Trump to pressure Netanyahu into halting the military campaign, writing in their letter: “Your dual focus on ending the war and bringing all the hostages home stands in stark contrast to Israel’s current expansion of the war. We thank you for your bold commitment to your convictions despite this contradiction. We know this will be the core issue of your Monday meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu.”
According to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, whose data is regarded as reliable by the United Nations, at least 66,005 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israel’s military campaign launched after a Hamas attack.
