With several released hostages and the families of freed captives in the audience during his address to a joint session of Congress, US President Donald Trump touts his efforts to return hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza.
“In the Middle East, we are bringing back our hostages from Gaza,” Trump says.
“In my first term, we achieved one of the most groundbreaking peace agreements in generations, the Abraham Accords, and now we’re going to build on that foundation to create a more peaceful and prosperous future for the entire region,” he says.
“A lot of things are happening in the Middle East… [a] rough neighborhood,” Trump adds.
After considerable anticipation in Israel, this ends up being the only remark about the hostages and the Middle East in the entire speech, which lasts over an hour and a half and is light on foreign policy.
While a handful of individuals in the audience received personal shout-outs from Trump, none of the former hostages — among them US-Israeli citizen Keith Siegel — enjoyed such attention.
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From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
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