US State Department stresses ‘critical’ need for hostage deal to be implemented in full

Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

Israelis attend a rally calling for the release of the hostages held in Gaza, at Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, January 25, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Israelis attend a rally calling for the release of the hostages held in Gaza, at Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, January 25, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The US State Department calls for the full implementation of the hostage deal, amid persistent calls from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners for Israel to return to fighting after the first stage.

“It is critical that the ceasefire implementation continues and that all of the hostages are freed from Hamas captivity and safely returned to their families,” the State Department says in a statement welcoming the release of the four Israeli hostages today.

“We continue to mourn the innocent lives lost at the hands of Hamas terrorism since October 7, 2023,” the statement adds, appearing to place all responsibility on the terror group for those killed in the war – an apparent change from the Biden administration, which also held Israel responsible for the deaths of Palestinian civilians in the fighting, arguing that Jerusalem needed to do more to prevent those deaths.

The United States celebrates the release of the four Israeli hostages held in captivity for 477 days.

Most Popular