Vice President Kamala Harris met with family members of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza Tuesday who said they weren’t interested in expressions of incremental results.
‘We don’t want any more progress. We want results,’ said Rachel Goldberg, mother of American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
Like other family members of hostages taken in the brazen Oct. 7 attack, Goldberg wore a piece of tape with the number 186 signifying the number of days in captivity.
Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen appealed to all sides to reach a deal which ‘the horror – the horror – that the civilians of Gaza have been experienced, we’ve been experiencing for the last six months, to come to an end. There is hope for people on both sides of the border –only after the hostages come home,’ he said.
Rachel Goldberg, center, mother of American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, along with other families of hostages in Gaza, speaks to reporters outside the White house in Washington, Tuesday, April 9, 2024. They met with VP Kamala Harris Tuesday
‘We are waiting now in the world waits for Hamas to get to yes … And we all of us will see shortly if Hamas cares enough about its own people, its own people, to say nothing of our loved ones to move towards deescalation to returning the light to everyone in and around Gaza,’ he said.
The Israeli Defense Forces say there are 133 hostages remaining in Gaza as the war continues.
Goldberg spoke of the eight Americans held in Gaza, as well as people ‘we don’t hear about’ – including eight Muslim Arabs, seven Thai buddhists, and two black African Christians.
Earlier at the White House, national security advisor Jake Sullivan sought to pressure Hamas to accept a deal negotiated in Cairo that would include a temporary cease fire and the release of hostages.
‘You have a party who is holding innocent people that it took hostage a long time ago doesn’t get a lot of attention, unfortunately, in the commentary,’ he said.
Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen appealed to all sides to reach a deal
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan pressed Hamas to accept the latest deal
Family members spoke of easing suffering for hostages as well as the people of Gaza
‘There could be a ceasefire in place today that would extend for several weeks to be built upon longer if Hamas would be prepared to release some of those people. So let’s train the attention where it belongs, which is that the world should say at this moment: Hamas, it’s time, let’s go. Let’s get that ceasefire. We’re ready. I believe Israel is ready. And I think Hamas should step up to the table and be prepared to do so as well.’
Hamas said Tuesday the latest proposal, worked out through Egyptian and Qatari mediators, didn’t meet the demands of militant factions, but would examine it further.
A statement by Harris’ office said she and President Biden ‘have no higher priority than reuniting the hostages with their loved ones.’
‘She also reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to bring home the remains of those who have been tragically confirmed to be deceased. The Vice President again condemned Hamas as a brutal terrorist organization and its horrific use of sexual violence, reaffirmed that the threat Hamas poses to Israel must be eliminated, and denounced the rise of antisemitism worldwide.’
‘The Vice President expressed her continued support for these families and they discussed the agony and pain felt over the past 6 months. The Vice President told them that they and their loved ones remain at the forefront of her mind and in her prayers as the Biden-Harris Administration works to secure the release of all the hostages. The Vice President provided an update on U.S. efforts to secure the release of all hostages and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.’