Families of Israeli captives in Gaza urged Donald Trump to
press PM Netanyahu for a prisoner swap deal with Palestinians to secure their
loved ones’ release.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth, the families made the plea in a statement they gave in both Hebrew and English outside the US Embassy in Tel Aviv.
“The bottleneck for your new Middle East vision and a Nobel Peace prize is the release of the hostages and a Gaza ceasefire,”
said the families.
Netanyahu's plan to capture Gaza City, dubbed "Gideon's Chariots 2," which is a follow-up to "Gideon's Chariots," which the Israeli army launched in Gaza between May 16 and August 6, was discussed by Israel's Security Cabinet on Sunday.
“President Trump, this is your moment. This is your deal. Built with American leadership, ready to be signed,”
the families said in their statement.
On the same day, an internal secret army memo was made public by Channel 12 acknowledging that "Gideon's Chariots" had fallen short of its declared objectives, namely destroying Hamas and returning the hostages.
The army acknowledged Tuesday that Israel has started to mobilize about 60,000 reservists to participate in the planned occupation of Gaza City.
Since October 2023, Israel has murdered around 63,600 Palestinians in Gaza. The famine-stricken enclave has been decimated by the military campaign.
For war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November.
Because of its war on the enclave, Israel is also facing a genocide prosecution at the International Court of Justice.
How have Netanyahu's recent statements affected hostage-negotiation chances?
Earlier, Netanyahu claimed there had been "significant
progress" in hostage talks with Hamas, expressing cautious optimism but
warning it was "too early to raise hopes." This was seen as an
attempt to signal movement while managing political pressures at home.
Recently, Netanyahu shifted from supporting partial, phased ceasefires to demanding a comprehensive agreement that would secure the release of all hostages and end the war completely on terms favorable to Israel. This harder stance has confused mediators and hostage families.
Netanyahu insists Israel will only agree to a deal releasing all hostages at once and that Hamas must be fully disarmed and Gaza demilitarized under Israeli control, with a civilian administration neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority. Hamas has rejected these demands.