Hostage families & IDF officials pressure Netanyahu to sign hostage deal as PM arrives in Washington

American hostage families demand Netanyahu announce deal in speech to Congress

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As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu landed in Washington, D.C. on Monday, he found himself under growing pressure from families of hostages, as well as Israeli security officials, to secure a hostage deal and truce agreement with the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza.

The current round of negotiations has been described with optimism by those involved, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken noting that the talks were within “the 10-yard line.”

However, Netanyahu in recent weeks presented four red lines that Arab and Israeli officials said have slowed the progress of the negotiations, according to the Times of Israel.

After touching down in Washington, Netanyahu met the delegation of hostage families that accompanied him, telling them conditions for a deal were "becoming ripe, without doubt. This is a good sign and the additional sign is that we see that the enemy's spirit is starting to break.” He added that Israel should remain steadfast in the negotiations.

“Unfortunately, it will not take place all at once; there will be stages,” he continued, “I believe that we can advance the deal and leave us in possession of the leverage to bring about the release of the others.”

Demonstrators protest for the release of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip, outside Hakirya Base in Tel Aviv, July 22, 2024 (Photo: Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90).

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, last night (Monday, 22 July 2024 / EDT), met with the representatives of the families of the hostages who have accompanied them, together with representatives of the families of hostages who are in the US (Photo: Amos Ben-Gershom / GPO).

Meanwhile, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin and eight other relatives of American hostages upped the pressure on Netanyahu ahead of his speech to Congress, emphasizing they would “view any speech that is not the announcement of the signing and closing of a hostage deal to be a total failure.”

“We fully expect that his speech is going to be the announcement of this hostage deal that we’ve all been waiting for,” added Jon Polin, father of Hersh, who also pointed to the support of Israel’s security establishment for a deal.

“After all the calls for a deal in Israel, I’m taking that cue and saying that if he flew to Washington in the midst of all of that, it must be that he’s here to announce a deal,” he said.

The IDF’s backing for a deal was again underlined on Monday, with sources reportedly telling The Jerusalem Post the Israeli military is convinced a temporary withdrawal from the whole Gaza Strip would be possible without a significant security cost.

This comes despite other security officials, as well as Netanyahu, insisting that the IDF would not evacuate the Philadelphi Corridor, on the border with Egypt, or the Netzarim Corridor, which separates northern Gaza from the rest of the enclave.

The sources pointed out that the IDF has by now withdrawn from almost every area in the Gaza Strip, and with the return of IDF soldiers to Khan Younis Monday night, has also re-invaded almost every area it had vacated at one point.

The security officials argued that “creative solutions” could be found to guarantee security along the Egypt-Gaza border, adding that the IDF could quickly retake the Philadelphi Corridor if necessary.

Regarding the Netzarim Corridor and Israel’s demand to keep it as a bulwark to prevent armed terrorists from returning to northern Gaza, the officials explained that Hamas still has large weapons caches there, which, in any case, would enable unarmed terrorists to pass IDF checkpoints and take up arms once they reach the north.