US hostage families urge Biden-Trump cooperation to reach deal before inauguration

The families of American-Israeli hostages held in Gaza urged top Biden officials during meetings in Washington on Tuesday to work with their counterparts in the incoming administration in order to secure a hostage deal before President-elect Donald Trump enters office in two months.

“Our requests… of both administrations right now is they work together, not to prepare the Trump administration for taking office in late January, but rather to get this done now in this unique moment,” hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen’s father Jonathan tells The Times of Israel after he and the relatives of six other American-Israeli hostages met at the White House with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, White House Mideast czar Brett McGurk and other top Biden officials.

If the sides wait until Trump enters office on January 20 to strike a deal, “there’s a very real possibility that none of the hostages will remain alive, and it will be nearly impossible to retrieve the remains of those who have been murdered,” Dekel-Chen warns.

While he faults the Israeli government for “abandoning” the hostages for more than 400 days, Dekel-Chen asserts that the Biden administration has done “everything in its power” to negotiate a deal, amid pushback from both Israel and Hamas.

The families of the American-Israeli hostages will remain in the US for several more days and are working to secure meetings with some of Trump’s recently announced appointees along with Republican lawmakers who will likely be in control of both houses of Congress next year.