Ex-hostage says Trump can convey house all these nonetheless captive in Gaza

[ad_1] <img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/9f54/live/6f865a90-5b2c-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/9f54/live/6f865a90-5b2c-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/9f54/live/6f865a90-5b2c-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/9f54/live/6f865a90-5b2c-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/9f54/live/6f865a90-5b2c-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/9f54/live/6f865a90-5b2c-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/9f54/live/6f865a90-5b2c-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/9f54/live/6f865a90-5b2c-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="BBC Keith Siegel speaks to the BBC in Tel Aviv, Israel (7 July 2025)" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> BBC Keith Siegel urged the US president to strain each Israel and Hamas to agree a deal

An American Israeli man who was held captive by Hamas has informed the BBC that US President Donald Trump has the facility to safe the discharge of the remaining hostages and finish the warfare in Gaza.

Keith Siegel, 66, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza in the course of the Hamas-led assaults on Israel on 7 October 2023. He was launched this February after 484 days in captivity below a ceasefire deal that Trump helped dealer simply earlier than he took workplace.

He was taken alongside together with his spouse, Aviva, who was held for 51 days earlier than being freed throughout an earlier ceasefire.

Mr Siegel was talking forward of a gathering between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump on the White Home on Monday night.

In an interview in Tel Aviv, he thanked Trump for securing his personal launch and mentioned the president may now do the identical for the remaining 50 hostages, as much as 20 of whom are believed to nonetheless be alive.

"I consider he has loads of energy, energy and talent to place strain on people who should be pressured, on each side with the intention to get the settlement, get the deal signed, and get all of hostages again and convey it into the warfare," he mentioned.

Trump has mentioned he hopes a brand new ceasefire and hostage launch deal will probably be agreed this week, however it seems there are nonetheless vital gaps between Israel and Hamas.

The 2 sides resumed oblique talks in Qatar on Sunday night however they ended after three hours with out a breakthrough, in accordance with a Palestinian official.

Earlier than he flew to Washington DC, Netanyahu mentioned he believed his assembly with Trump may "undoubtedly assist advance that end result we're all hoping for".

It's believed the plan consists of the staggered launch of 10 dwelling hostages and the our bodies of 18 lifeless hostages in change for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

Hamas mentioned on Friday that it had delivered a "optimistic response". However a Palestinian official mentioned it had requested a number of adjustments, together with a US assure that hostilities wouldn't resume if negotiations on an finish to the warfare failed - an thought Netanyahu has beforehand rejected.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/4de8/live/b975d040-5b2c-11f0-a40e-a1af2950b220.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/4de8/live/b975d040-5b2c-11f0-a40e-a1af2950b220.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/4de8/live/b975d040-5b2c-11f0-a40e-a1af2950b220.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/4de8/live/b975d040-5b2c-11f0-a40e-a1af2950b220.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/4de8/live/b975d040-5b2c-11f0-a40e-a1af2950b220.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/4de8/live/b975d040-5b2c-11f0-a40e-a1af2950b220.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/4de8/live/b975d040-5b2c-11f0-a40e-a1af2950b220.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/4de8/live/b975d040-5b2c-11f0-a40e-a1af2950b220.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Reuters Keith Siegel, flanked by his wife Aviva Siegel and fellow former hostage Iair Horn, was comforted by President Donald Trump while he addressed the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) dinner in Washington DC on 8 April 2025" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Reuters Keith Siegel and his spouse Aviva met Donald Trump in Washington earlier this yr

Mr Siegel described in vivid element how Hamas members beat and taunted him, and mentioned he was nonetheless haunted by the torture of a feminine captive he witnessed.

He mentioned Hamas operatives had moved him by the streets of Gaza, generally in daylight, to 33 completely different areas in the course of the course of his captivity.

When requested whether or not he would assist a deal which launched the hostages however noticed Hamas stay in energy in Gaza, he replied: "It is of the best precedence and urgency to get the entire 50 hostages again as quickly as potential."

However he continued: "We can't let Hamas proceed to threaten individuals and to kill and homicide individuals, and I feel Hamas is liable for demise on each side."

Gaza's Hamas-run well being ministry says greater than 57,000 individuals have been killed there since Israel launched navy operations in response to the 7 October assaults, throughout which about 1,200 individuals have been killed in Israel and 251 others taken hostage.

I requested Mr Siegel, as he continues to marketing campaign for the discharge of the remaining hostages, whether or not his ideas additionally deal with the struggling of the Gazan inhabitants.

"I consider that peace and safety for all individuals and freedom... are primary human rights that each particular person deserves," he mentioned.

"I feel it is the duty of all management to make sure that that occurs. Any harmless particular person that's damage or killed or murdered is one thing that I hope or I dream is not going to occur."