00:00Well, thank you all for gathering.
00:03We met today six of the seven U.S. citizen families who have hostages still in the tunnels,
00:12the hell tunnels of Hamas.
00:15We met today at the invitation of President Biden.
00:19We met today with the president, members of his staff, and the prime minister of Israel,
00:24and a number of his senior advisors.
00:28We came today with a sense of urgency.
00:31As you know, as time goes forward, the likelihood of getting our hostages home, our loved ones
00:39home, alive and recovering the bodies of those who have already been murdered, becomes less
00:44and less likely.
00:45So as families, we came in really emphasizing to the leaders of the United States and of
00:52Israel a desire to get this deal done, this three-phase deal that the president announced
01:00a few weeks ago and has been on the negotiating table, in order to return all, now 115, of
01:07the Israeli hostages and to end the suffering of the people of Gaza, because the moment
01:12they come home, these 115, the killing ends, the madness ends.
01:17And so that is how we walked through the doors on the way in.
01:21What we found after asking a series of difficult questions and getting answers to all of them
01:28– unfortunately, we cannot share the content of those questions and answers – but what
01:34we did find by the end of the meeting, which was productive and honest, that we feel probably
01:43more optimistic than we have since the first round of releases in late November, early
01:49December, where a little over 100 of Israel's hostages were released.
01:55We got absolute commitment from the Biden administration and from Prime Minister Netanyahu
02:01that they understand the urgency of this moment now to waste no time and to complete this
02:08deal as it currently stands, with as little change as humanly possible within it.
02:16We are also very happy to hear from the President that Hamas now understands that the ball is
02:23in its court.
02:24World pressure is such that it has nowhere to hide anymore.
02:28Hamas could have ended this horror on October 8th by releasing all of the Israeli hostages.
02:34That of course has not happened.
02:36But no more excuses, no more time.
02:39Hamas, in order to free its own people from the horrors of war, must say yes now.
02:47Do you believe the deal is closer now, after talking to them, do you believe it's close
02:57to happen, to be achieved?
02:59They're definitely working on a proposal, it should be coming out soon.
03:04We believe that both parties understand the urgency and it's going to come out to the
03:08public and a proposal to Hamas very soon.
03:12Mary.
03:13Yesterday, during his address to Congress, the Prime Minister didn't actually mention
03:16it at all, the ceasefire deal.
03:18What did you make of that and are you confident that Netanyahu can bring your loved ones home?
03:23Do you trust him?
03:25This whole conversation, as Jonathan already said, this whole conversation was about the
03:33deal that was put on the table, the three-phase deal that the Prime Minister agreed to, and
03:40it was about the ways to which induce the negotiations or anything that needs to get
03:46done in order to get people out, the sense of urgency.
03:50So do you trust him?
03:52Did you all discuss today with President Biden the possibility of a separate deal to get
03:58American hostages out or are you confident that they are fully committed to getting this
04:03current deal done?
04:05The U.S. administration has been consistent, as have we, that the urgency is to get all
04:10of Israel's hostages home.
04:12Those who might still be alive, and we honestly don't know who might still be alive, as you
04:17know, the Red Cross or any other international agency has never been allowed by Hamas to
04:23visit with our hostages.
04:26That deal is not on the table, meaning solely the Americans.
04:32Everyone needs to come home.
04:34Everyone needs to come home.
04:36Sir?
04:37I would like to add to that.
04:39The shortest way to get Americans out is through that deal and to get everybody's out.
04:46Right here.
04:47Hi.
04:48Thank you for coming out.
04:49I appreciate it very much.
04:51With President Biden leaving in January, do you believe that impacts in any way the ability
04:56to free your family members?
04:59On the contrary, I actually think it allows the president to be laser focused on the things
05:08that are true priorities to him and saving human beings, cherished human beings, 115
05:16of them, eight of whom are U.S. citizens, is one paramount issue for him.
05:26And I think not having to worry about all the things surrounding a reelection allows
05:33him the freedom to focus on this, and we wish him Godspeed in that task.
05:39We saw a very committed president to get the hostages back, the Americans and the rest
05:46of the Israelis, now more than ever.
05:49I actually want to add one more point to that, which is we've got a rare moment now where
05:54the current president of the United States and anybody who might become president of
06:00the United States, both Vice President Harris and Donald Trump, are all aligned in saying
06:06this deal must get done now.
06:09So anybody on any side who makes the mistaken political calculus that there's benefit in
06:13waiting will find out that that logic is wrong.
06:17The deal must happen now.
06:19And one more question, if I may.
06:21Pope Francis reiterated his call today for an Olympic truce, that is for warring nations
06:26to stop fighting, at least for the period of the athletic competition.
06:29Does that give you any hope at all?
06:32I would say that we are all in favor of an Olympic truce.
06:35We support the Pope on that.
06:37Jeff.
06:38Thanks very much.
06:39And if I could ask you to give us your name before you speak as well.
06:44And what have you mentioned at the top that you're more optimistic about where things
06:48are going?
06:49The White House has been expressing that same optimism for a few weeks now.
06:53Without getting into what you can't tell us about the content of your questions and answers,
06:57can you explain why you're more optimistic now?
07:01My name is Jonathan Dekelchen.
07:04I'm the father of Sagi Dekelchen, 35-year-old father of three, who was kidnapped, taken hostage
07:11from Kibbutz Neroz.
07:13We still have 33 hostages in Gaza.
07:19Given what we've learned over the past few days in our meetings with administration officials
07:25and senior members of Congress and today at the meeting, it does seem like there is absolutely
07:33no daylight between the position of the U.S. government, U.S. Congress, and Israeli leadership.
07:42In addition to that, over the course of the last few months, with our encouragement, the
07:49world community, keeping in mind that there are hostages from over 20 countries that still
07:55remain in Gaza.
07:57And many, not all, many of those countries have stepped up with the leadership of the
08:01United States to impress upon Hamas the need to end this now.
08:07And so together with the additional military pressure that's been put on Hamas by the Israeli
08:14military and intelligence services and the, again, ironclad commitment that we got today
08:20from our prime minister and from President Biden, there is more reason today than in any
08:28time since the last round of hostage releases that something can happen and that all sides,
08:37that there is a place now to complete this three-phase deal.
08:45That's a bit above our pay grade, I'm afraid.
08:48But we did get a commitment from the president and from the prime minister that both teams
08:54will be working by the hour in the coming days to put out an adjusted proposal to Hamas.
09:02And they understood completely and are partnered with us around the urgency that the cycles
09:08of back and forth get narrower and narrower so that we can get to the finish line, again,
09:14for our loved ones, for Israel, and for the people of Gaza.
09:31Do you have a statement that he will be able to agree to the deal in his speech tomorrow
09:36after the meeting now?
09:38Have you changed your mind about him or does he still have something to prove?
09:43We are the parents of Omer Neutra, an American citizen, a New Yorker who went to Israel,
09:48enlisted and was kidnapped from his tank on October 7th.
09:52Yes, we were a bit skeptical because we heard the statements of the prime minister
10:01so far with very little information about the agreement.
10:05He only spoke about the efforts that are being made, but not about the agreement itself.
10:09At the meeting, we did hear that the agreement needs to be advanced and they are working on it.
10:13Therefore, we are now more optimistic and hope that in the coming days a proposal will be
10:19put forward to Hamas, hoping that Hamas will accept it and we will be able to move forward
10:23with a framework in which our children, our parents, will be able to go outside
10:31and silence will reach the entire region.
10:36Do you have any message for people who are protesting on both sides?
10:45Jonathan, what is it?
11:04There were a group of Palestinians that were outside today.
11:08And in the past years, different than today, there were a group of Israelis as well on both sides.
11:38Did you feel that Prime Minister Netanyahu had the same commitment and determination as President Biden?
12:08I am Liz Hersh-Naftali. I am the great-aunt of Abigail who was released back at the end of November.
12:13And I think the question is, where are we today? We are standing in front of the White House.
12:17It's a historical moment where the President of the United States, with the Prime Minister of Israel,
12:24invited, the President invited hostage families that they have worked with for 10 months
12:29to get their loved ones home.
12:31So the commitment is that we sat in a room with two men, two great leaders,
12:36that we need to be making the decision.
12:38And we know that Prime Minister Netanyahu is the person who needs to say yes.
12:42We know that he has a deep, long relationship with President Biden.
12:47And while they could not share details, what they could share was this relationship.
12:52Maybe sometimes it's rocky, but right now you see it's solid.
12:55And right now you see that these two men understand that there is 120 people that need to be released.
13:02And what we also understand is that the fighting needs to stop.
13:05So when you ask that question, think about where we are at this moment.
13:09And think about this one time where you have a President of the United States, Joe Biden,
13:15Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, coming together for a meeting and then inviting us
13:20and listening to us and sharing with us and committing to us the rapid return of our loved ones.
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