Trump: ‘We’re getting close to getting’ the hostages back, Hamas ‘is a nasty group’
US president cites progress in talks; Netanyahu holds meeting on captives with negotiators and security chiefs, speaks with families of hostages Elkana Bohbot and Rom Braslavski
US President Donald Trump on Thursday said progress was being made regarding the return of the hostages being held in Gaza and that he was dealing with both Israel and Hamas, but he gave no other details about the talks.
“We’re getting close to getting them back,” Trump told reporters at a cabinet meeting,
“A lot came back. A lot of people are very grateful. Some came back in pretty bad shape. They’re okay. I think they’re going to be scarred mentally for a long time because if you sit down and talk to them, as I have, what they went through is incredible,” he said
“But we’re making progress,” he added. “We’re dealing with Israel, we’re dealing with Hamas, and it’s a nasty group.”
The comments came as the Ynet news site reported that Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff relayed a similar message to the families of hostages.
“A real serious deal is on the table and it’s a matter of a few days,” he was quoted as saying.
Bolstering the reports, Kan radio reported on Friday that Israel and Egypt had exchanged draft documents on a ceasefire-hostage release deal.
The proposals were said to be aimed at bridging an Egyptian compromise proposal and US special envoy Steve Witkoff’s proposal for a deal.
The Egyptian proposal reported earlier this week provides for the release of eight living hostages and eight bodies of hostages in exchange for a truce lasting between 40 and 70 days and a large number of Palestinian terrorists and prisoner releases.
Witkoff proposed a deal last month that would see the release of five hostages in exchange for a large number of Palestinian security prisoners, and a two-month ceasefire.
In light of the developments, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a situation assessment on the hostages with his negotiators and security chiefs on Thursday, The Times of Israel learned.
He also met in Jerusalem with the families of hostages Elkana Bohbot and Rom Braslavski, Netanyahu’s office said.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu updated the families on ongoing talks to get the hostages released.
Netanyahu “reiterates his commitment to achieving all the goals of the war: returning all our hostages, eliminating Hamas and ensuring that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” said his office.
There are believed to be 24 living hostages still in Gaza, as well as 35 confirmed by Israel to be dead.
The hostages were taken on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led thousands of terrorists in an invasion of southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 as hostages to the Gaza Strip.
Hamas freed 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that in the early weeks of the war. The terror group released 30 hostages — 20 Israeli civilians, five soldiers, and five Thai nationals — and the bodies of eight slain Israeli captives during a ceasefire between January and March. In exchange, Israel has freed some 2,000 jailed Palestinian terrorists, security prisoners, and Gazan terror suspects detained during the war.
The sides had agreed to hold talks on a second and third phase of the January deal that would include the return of all hostages, end the war, and ensure a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. However, the truce collapsed after the first stage when Israel refused to enter negotiations on the terms of the subsequent phases, and Hamas refused to extend the first phase, leading Jerusalem to resume military operations in Gaza.
