By: Mike Wagenheim

Trump administration officials on Tuesday hosted at the White House family members of Hamas hostages in the Gaza Strip.

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick met with several families as part of ongoing efforts to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and to secure the hostages’ release.

“We are committed to the release of all and believe that the release of the hostages will bring significant calm to the region,” said Leavitt. “Beyond the humanitarian and moral aspect, the release of the hostages is of paramount importance to us in order to also create regional peace.”

The meeting was attended by Tal Shoham, a survivor of Hamas captivity, as well as Merav and Gal Gilboa-Dalal, the parents of hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal, along with his brother Ilan Dalal.

Galia and Eli David, the mother and brother of hostage Evyatar David, were also present, together with Orna and Ronen Neutra, the parents of slain captive Omer Neutra, a dual American-Israeli citizen.

According to a statement by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the Americans “expressed deep sympathy with the families, and emphasized the Trump administration’s full commitment to work for the release of all 58 abductees. They stated that they will continue to work resolutely until all the abductees are returned home.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog met on Tuesday with Omer Wenkert, who was released in February after being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip for over a year.

Wenkert was abducted from a bomb shelter in Kibbutz Re’im during the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre. He had sought refuge in the shelter after escaping the attack on the Nova music festival.

During the meeting, the president spoke with Wenkert and his parents, Niva and Shai, about his experience in captivity.

 “I am truly overjoyed—on behalf of an entire nation—to see you here. I know the hell you went through. To think that during all that time you knew nothing—no one spoke to you, you didn’t see any television, you weren’t updated—and now you are here with us,” said Herzog.

“Your presence is a message of hope: to encourage those still held captive, to cry out on their behalf, to pray, and to do everything possible to bring every one of them home as soon as possible,” he added.

 “This is not a political issue. It’s not about right or left. First and foremost, it is our duty—as a people and as a state—to bring all our people back,” said Wenkert.

“I also want to say that I am deeply worried about the condition of the hostages. It’s been a long time since I came back—over 100 days. That’s not a short time. I’m very worried, and while people say it’s a cliché that every moment counts—it’s the truth. Every moment is critical,” he continued.

In March, Wenkert, 23, described the brutal abuse he endured at the hands of his Hamas captors.

“They just hit you like crazy with everything they can find, whether it’s hitting your legs with the barrel of the gun, punching your face, kicking you all over,” said Wenkert in a televised interview with Israel’s Channel 12 News.

(JNS.org)