Herzog thanks Biden for speech, says will give Netanyahu ‘full support’ for hostage deal

Speaking at a conference at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, President Isaac Herzog thanks US President Joe Biden for his speech on Friday outlining an Israeli proposal for a hostage deal, and for “his ongoing efforts to bring about the release of all the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.”

Herzog also says he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would give him “full support” for a hostage-release deal.

“We must not forget that according to Jewish tradition, there is no greater commandment than redeeming captives and hostages — especially when it comes to Israeli citizens who the State of Israel was not able to defend,” says Herzog at the conference, named after his father Chaim Herzog. “It is our inherent obligation to bring them home within the framework of a deal that preserves the security interests of the State of Israel.”