Relatives of Israeli hostages want cease-fire deal from Netanyahu speech

Some family members of hostages still held in Gaza are set to be in the audience when Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint session of Congress on Wednesday afternoon.

“What we're all hoping to hear is that a deal has been completed,” Efrat Moshkoviz told NPR. She is the aunt of Naama Levy, who turned 20 in captivity last month. Footage of Levy being dragged from the back of a truck, bound and with blood on the seat of her pants, became a symbol of the violence women faced while being kidnapped by Hamas-led militants last October.

“To be slightly more realistic, I want to hear explicit commitment. I want Netanyahu to look us in the eye, all of the hostage families, and say, ‘I am committed to this. I will get this done. It's my top priority and it's a matter of hours or days.’”

Eight American hostages are still being held in Gaza, among 120 hostages still in captivity; more than one-third of hostages are believed to be dead. Netanyahu’s office previously announced that Israel would be sending negotiators back to the table on Thursday, but Israeli officials said Wednesday that the Israeli delegation would leave only after President Biden and Netanyahu meet on Thursday.

Moshkoviz is set to be joined in the audience by other family members of Israeli hostages as guests of U.S. lawmakers, in addition to those in Netanyahu’s delegation, including rescued hostage Noa Argamani and her father Yaakov.

Moshkoviz, who traveled to D.C. for the speech from New Jersey, said she doesn’t “fully understand the choice of timing” for the visit.

“We would all have preferred him stay close to the negotiations and focus on that and make that the top priority,” she said. “The voices from Israel, including my sister’s, [are saying] — first get a deal done, then go and address Congress.”

She said the directive to bring the hostages home has not always felt like the number one priority.

Moshkoviz said her niece was an alumna of Hands of Peace, a dialogue program that brought together young Americans, Israelis and Palestinians, and was “dreaming of being part of what brings different people, different opinions, different faiths together.”

“She has always been quiet, determined, incredibly driven in her beliefs and what she wants to accomplish, and she gets that from her mom,” she said. “And in the mornings when I wake up, I talk to her and I say just hold on. Let that quiet, peaceful place find you and that determination that I know you have to help you hold on because it's coming. It's imminent.”

Hostage families meet with key administration officials, leaders

On Monday, families of American hostages held by Hamas met with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan at the White House.

“Jake is showing positivity,” said Ruby Chen, whose son Itay Chen was killed on the border of Gaza on October 7 and whose body is still being held by Hamas. “He's working all the phones and is talking to all the players in the region, and it seems like we are at a point to get this deal done.”

Rachel Goldberg, whose son Hersh was kidnapped from the Nova music festival, cited “horrendous suffering going on with the families of the 120 hostages who hail from 24 different nations," and said she expects Netanyahu to announce during his speech that he is ready to finalize a deal.

“If this deal doesn't start, if the process doesn't start, it will be seen as a failure,” she said.

Family representatives of the eight American hostages in Gaza also met with Netanyahu on Monday to ask about the status of releasing all the hostages, and to demand that anything other than an immediate deal to bring them home would be considered a failure. The meeting took place hours after Israel announced two more hostages were killed.

On Tuesday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a roundtable with family representatives of Americans being held hostage.

“To this day, many Americans are completely unaware that eight Americans are still being held hostage,” said Daniel Neutra, the brother of a 22-year-old Israel Defense Forces soldier held hostage. “Each day is more dangerous and exhausting than the last."

He said after meeting with Netanyahu, "the urgency of the matter did not seem to resonate with him."

Committee chairman Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told Neutra he would be meeting with Netanyahu and will bring up Neutra's concerns.

A group of relatives of hostages who are dual U.S.-Israeli citizens are scheduled to meet jointly with Biden and Netanyahu on Thursday.

"Now, both President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu can decide what will be their legacy," said Michael Levy, whose younger brother Or is a hostage.

Speaking with reporters at a gathering in Washington on Tuesday evening, some of the relatives sharply criticized Netanyahu but made it clear they hope this week will mark a turning point and that Biden will be able to persuade the Israeli prime minister to sign a cease-fire deal that would bring their loved ones home.

"President Biden is the only one he'll listen to," said Gil Dickmann, a cousin of hostage Carmel Gat, who was kidnapped along with her mother Kinneret Gat, who was killed.

Jon Polin, the father of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, wore a piece of masking tape on his shirt bearing the number 291, indicating the days since his son has been held captive.

He said Netanyahu “has been talking about complete victory for most of the last 291 days. … I still don't know what the definition is of complete victory. I know the definition of total failure — and that is not bringing home the hostages."

NPR’s Hannah Bloch, Michele Kelemen and Jackie Northam contributed to this report.