Families of American Israeli hostages demanded an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, saying it is the only means to win the release of their loved ones who have been held by Hamas since the militant group attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, the families said they are working with the Biden administration to “encourage all our parties to reach a deal.”
Only by doing so, “the horror” that the civilians of Gaza have been experiencing for the last six months can also come to an end, said Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen.
The White House briefed the families on the Biden administration’s efforts to secure the release of all hostages and an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, during a meeting earlier Tuesday with Vice President Kamala Harris.
“The Vice President underscored that President [Joe] Biden and she have no higher priority than reuniting the hostages with their loved ones,” according to a White House readout of the meeting. “She also reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to bring home the remains of those who have been tragically confirmed to be deceased.”
The U.S. is pushing Hamas to accept a deal with Israel to halt fighting in Gaza for six weeks while releasing some of the more than 130 hostages held by the U.S.-designated terror group in exchange for Israel freeing hundreds of Palestinians it has jailed.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Washington on Tuesday that a “very serious” proposal was presented to Hamas in Cairo last weekend and “should be accepted.”
“The ball is in Hamas’ court,” Blinken said. “The world is watching to see what it does.”
One of the hostage families rejected efforts to separate the hostage release from military de-escalation in Gaza.
“These two things must be linked. No conversation about the region should be had without it starting with ‘133 hostages must come home,’” said Jonathan Polin, father of American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the dozens who were kidnapped during a music festival in Israel on Oct. 7.
The hostage families expressed sympathy for the Palestinians in Gaza.
“You can believe, as we do, that it is horrible that innocent civilians in Gaza are suffering,” said Rachel Goldberg, Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s mother. “And at the same time, you can also know that it is horrible and against international law, for hostages to be held against their will.”
About 1,200 people were killed during the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas. Around 250 were taken hostage.
As of mid-February, 112 hostages had been freed, most during a weeklong cease-fire in November, while 36 more are believed to have died or been killed in Gaza during the six months of fighting.
No cease-fire deal as Ramadan ends
President Biden had originally set the beginning of Ramadan, which started on March 10, as the deadline for another Israel-Hamas cease-fire.
In response to VOA’s question during the White House briefing Tuesday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan blamed Hamas for the fact that the Muslim month of fasting is set to end on Wednesday with still no cease-fire.
“The world should say at this moment to Hamas, ‘It's time. Let's go. Let's get that cease-fire,'” he said. “We're ready. I believe Israel is ready and I think Hamas should step up to the table and be prepared to do so as well.”
Sullivan said that as of Tuesday morning, Qatari negotiators facilitating the cease-fire talks had not received a response from Hamas on whether they’ll accept the latest U.S. proposal presented in Cairo over the weekend by CIA Director Bill Burns.
The proposal was sent days after a tense phone call between Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu, during which the U.S. president pressed the Israeli prime minister “to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home.”
From the Israeli perspective, Netanyahu has flexibility in negotiating the number of Palestinian terrorists to be released as part of the deal, said Jonathan Rynhold, head of the Department of Political Studies at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University.
“There's much less flexibility on permanent cease-fire, on things that Israel would believe would give Hamas a military advantage,” he told VOA.
Israel’s counter-offensive in Gaza has killed more than 33,000 people, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to Gaza health officials. The Israeli military says several thousand Hamas fighters are among those killed.
