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US focused at ‘highest levels’ on getting hostage bodies to Israel, envoy says

“If this ceasefire falls apart, the fighting starts, that’s going to make it that much harder to find these loved ones and get them out,” Mike Waltz said.

Mike Waltz
Former U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz speaking at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., Feb. 21, 2025. Credit: Gage Skidmore via Creative Commons.

The United States will do “everything” to get back the bodies of the two American citizens remaining in Gaza, Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said in an interview with Fox News on Thursday.

Waltz told Brian Kilmeade that there is an “entire task force” of “senior American officials, senior American officers” on the job, and U.S. Central Command has 200 troops “there to help with this, and with the aid facilitation.”

“The Israelis are absolutely focused on it, so they need heavy equipment. They need specialized gear,” Waltz said. “We have to also understand that if this ceasefire falls apart, the fighting starts, that’s going to make it that much harder to find these loved ones and get them out.”

“We are, at the highest levels, focused on it,” he said.

The agreement commits Washington to respect Israeli sovereignty and limits future sanctions against listed Israelis and organizations, the NGO says.
Israel will not tolerate attacks on its troops and will maintain its security zone in Southern Lebanon, the PM said.
The U.S. ambassador said Hezbollah—not Jerusalem—is responsible for preventing a ceasefire from taking hold.
“I felt that I had to contribute more,” police Sgt. 1st Class Alkarnawi, 23, told JNS.
The national security minister called for an overwhelming response following the killing of four IDF soldiers in Lebanon.
It’s “difficult to believe” anyone would look to the P.A. as a viable partner, said Maurice Hirsch, director of the Initiative for Palestinian Authority Accountability and Reform.