US hostage families ask Trump to work with Biden to secure release

 

The families of the Americans believed to be held hostage in Gaza released a statement asking President-elect Donald Trump to work with President Joe Biden to “secure the immediate release of the hostages and end this nightmare for the hostage families, Israel, and the civilians of Gaza.”

“The hostages cannot wait any longer,” the statement said. “They are depending on us and on Republican and Democratic leaders to seize this moment.”

According to a source familiar with the matter, the hostage families have never met or spoken with Trump as a group.

The family of Edan Alexander joined Trump for an October 7 commemoration, and Ronen and Orna Neutra, the parents of Omer Neutra, spoke at the Republican National Convention in July but did not speak with Trump at the time.

Some context: Throughout his campaign, Trump has not specified how he would approach the Israel-Hamas war if reelected, or how his policies would differ from Biden’s. In April, Trump did say that Israel needs to “finish what they started” and “get it over with fast,” noting that it was “losing the PR war” because of the images coming out of Gaza.