Families of US-Israeli hostages say they urged Biden’s aides to keep pressing PM for deal

The families of the American-Israeli hostages urged the Biden administration to continue pressuring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a hostage-ceasefire deal during their meeting Monday with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and White House Mideast czar Brett McGurk, according to a readout issued by the captives’ relatives.

Echoing a message they shared with reporters during a briefing earlier in the day, the families told Sullivan and McGurk that they expect Netanyahu to announce that he has finalized the deal to bring their family members home during his address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.

“Anything less, they said, would constitute an abject failure of his trip to Washington,” the statement from the families says.

During the hour-long White House meeting, the sides discussed the ongoing negotiations to release the remaining 120 hostages, including eight US citizens. The families “emphasized that there is a solid deal on the table and that securing it hinges on the political determination and cooperation from both sides involved,” the readout adds.

The American hostage families thank members of the administration for their support, including Sullivan, who has met with them 12 times.