Hostage families laud Trump, urge meeting during Israel visit

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum sent a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, thanking him for helping secure an agreement to free the hostages being held by terrorists in Gaza and inviting him to meet with the group during his reported upcoming visit to Israel.

“We would be deeply honored if you would meet with us during your upcoming visit to Israel. This could be one of the greatest shows of support in the history of Israel to a friend and ally. We know you will not rest until every last hostage is brought home,” the Tel Aviv-based organization wrote.

Trump announced an agreement on Wednesday between Israel and Hamas on the first phase of a truce deal that will see the 20 living and 28 deceased hostages in Gaza returned to Israel within 72 hours of Israeli Cabinet approval, which was expected to be granted on Thursday evening.

The forum’s letter was publicized after Trump told U.S. news site Axios on Wednesday that he is “likely going to Israel in the coming days” to address the Knesset.

According to Hebrew media reports on Thursday, the plan is for the president to arrive on Saturday night and hold a reception at Ben-Gurion International Airport, visit the Knesset on Sunday, and then take off for Washington with no additional ceremonies or meetings.

The U.S. embassy in Jerusalem reportedly contacted the King David Hotel in Israel’s capital with a request to reserve two floors for Trump and his entourage.

The Tikva Forum of hostage families, in a statement on Thursday, thanked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “for his steadfastness over two years, despite internal and external pressures, and for succeeding in bringing back all of our loved ones together.”

The organization also thanked Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer for working “tirelessly day and night on our behalf.”

“At this moment, there are still many families who have not received information about the fate of their loved ones. We wish to remind everyone that the agreement includes everyone, without exception,” said the Tikva Forum.

“We understand the price that Israeli society will pay for our loved ones. Throughout this process, we were careful not to pressure the State of Israel to yield to Hamas’s dictates. The State of Israel must do everything possible to prevent future kidnappings,” the statement concluded.

‘The moment we’ve been waiting for’

“This is the moment we’ve been waiting for,” said Udi Goren, cousin of Tal Haimi, whose body is being held by Hamas. “This is what we’ve worked for over the past two years—on the streets, in the Knesset, and flying around the world. It was all for this exact moment,” he told JNS.

Tal Haimi, a member of the Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak rapid response team, was murdered on Oct. 7, 2023.

“There’s a sense of relief, but we’ve been through so many ups and downs that I still feel the need to be cautious,” Goren said.

“My cousin is a murdered hostage. Hamas has already said they won’t be able to locate all of them. I’m thrilled that some—or most—families may finally find closure and bring their loved ones home. But I’m still anxious, thinking that some won’t, and that we might be among them,” he added.

Goren spoke to JNS while on his way to Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, where families of the captives planned to gather and embrace one another.

“It’s impossible to just stay home. There’s still so much ahead of us. This isn’t over—reaching the agreement is huge, but implementing it will be an equally difficult and critical stage,” he said.

“For the Israeli people, I have nothing but appreciation and admiration,” Goren added. “They stood by us through these unbearably hard and frustrating years. They never abandoned us. That shows the true spirit of Israelis—despite all the hardship and division, we still know what’s right and what our core values are.”

‘Light shall overcome darkness’

“Light shall overcome the darkness,” Efrat Machikawa, niece of freed Hamas hostage Gadi Moses, told JNS. Moses was returned to Israel as part of a ceasefire agreement in January. “We fought hard; we did not give up hope,” she said.

Moses was one of 76 hostages taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas massacre that left 1,200 people dead.

“It will not be an end but rather the closure of the terrible, monstrous, horrific attack that Hamas conducted on Oct. 7, 2023, on our people. It will also be a first step toward healing and dealing with the trauma,” said Machikawa.

“We have been living this for 733 days—every single day, we fought all over the world: talking to the media, attending protests, meeting delegations. We did everything we could. It feels as if it is almost ending, but it’s not yet, since we live in a very sensitive region,” she continued.

“Many people may feel relief but not joy. We are expecting more deceased hostages than living. Closure and proper burial are very important for everyone: the little children will be able to know their dads are back as deceased, the widows can continue, and parents will have a place to mourn. The living will have a chance to rehabilitate,” she added.

Machikawa expressed concern for the health of the living hostages. “Some returnees were in bad condition more than half a year ago. We don’t know whether they will be able to walk themselves to the Red Cross cars. I really hope the concerns of Israeli doctors were heard by Hamas and that they won’t feed them too much before the release, because they are in a dangerous state now,” she said.

“I really hope the international community will learn two lessons,” she continued. “First, there is no place for terrorist groups in the modern world, and they should be eliminated. Second, this shows the power of solidarity. I wish Arab countries and all the leaders supporting Trump had acted a year and eight months ago. It would have saved many Israeli and Gazan lives.”