Hostages Forum thanks Biden for efforts on hostage-truce deal, calls on Netanyahu to show ‘similar determination’

The Hostages Families Forum thanks Joe Biden for his efforts to secure a deal to release their loved ones from Hamas captivity in Gaza, after the US president told reporters earlier today that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not doing enough to close an agreement.

“The Hostages Families Forum commends President Biden and his administration for their actions and determination to secure the release of all 101 hostages. We urge Prime Minister Netanyahu to demonstrate similar resilience, determination, and commitment to the lives of the hostages,” a statement says.

Noting mass demonstrations across the country and a general strike since the IDF recovered the bodies of six hostages who were executed in Gaza last week, the forum says a deal “represents not only the best chance to save lives but also the only path toward a better future for the entire region.”

“The people of Israel will not allow the nearly 11-month neglect of the hostages to continue. Every day could be their last, as the execution of six hostages in the past few days has shown us.”

The bodies of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Alex Lobanov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Almog Sarusi, 27, who were all abducted alive by Hamas on October 7, were recovered from a tunnel in southern Gaza’s Rafah overnight Saturday, shortly after they were murdered.