Tens of thousands of Israelis marched to the US Embassy in Tel Aviv Saturday night with renewed calls to bring the war in Gaza to a close — just one day after President Trump said another 10 hostages held by Hamas would be set free “very shortly.”
“We got most of the hostages back,” Trump said. “We’re going to have another 10 coming very shortly, and we hope to have that finished quickly.”
Trump made the comments during a dinner with congressional lawmakers at the White House Friday but didn’t offer up any additional details.
Einav Zanguaker, whose son Matan is being held hostage in Gaza, piggybacked on Trump’s prediction, calling on Israel to “abandon the madness of eternal war.”
“This is the time for Israel to join hands with the US … and to advance Trump’s vision for ending the war and returning all the hostages,” she said ahead of the rally in Tel Aviv.
As many as 50,000 Israelis joined in the rally Saturday night, local media reported, marching to the US Embassy carrying Israeli and American flags and chanting “not right-wing, not left-wing, the hostages before everything else,” in Hebrew.
“President Trump,” urged Nadav Rudaeff in English, whose father Lior Rudaeff was killed on Oct. 7, 2023 and whose body is still being held by the terror group.
“Please use your power to make sure this deal will be made and don’t let this opportunity pass. End the suffering. Bring all hostages home now.”
It’s believed 50 Israeli hostages remain in Hamas captivity, with 20 still alive and 30 believed to be dead.
Israeli and Hamas delegations have been in ongoing truce talks in Qatar since July 6, discussing a US-backed proposal for a 60-day cease-fire — but failed to reach an agreement.
The terror group has declared that if the two sides fail to reach a temporary deal during this round of talks, only a permanent cease-fire would be on the table in the future. Israel meanwhile is reportedly considering sending senior officials to Doha, in an effort to speed up negotiations, according to Haaretz.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” Hamas’ armed wing spokesperson Abu Ubaida said Friday in a televised speech.
The latest proposal on the table calls for 10 Israeli hostages to be returned by Hamas — along with the bodies of 18 others — over the course of 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a yet to be determined number of Palestinian prisoners.
But the main sticking point remains the extent of the Israeli army’s withdrawals from Gaza and the terror group’s demands that they leave the region entirely
One of the Israeli hostages who was released by Hamas in January spoke to a cheering crowd of thousands of people in English Saturday night, as she addressed Trump directly.
“We have met and spoken, I know how personally important this is to you, how deeply you are involved, and I know what you are capable of,” said ex-captive Doron Steinbrecher. “Make it happen. Let everyone emerge through the gates of hell so that we may rise.
“Bibi and Trump. Close the deal, so that we could make Israel great again!’
With Post wires
