March 21, 2024

 

President Joseph Biden

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW

Washington, DC 20500

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Dear President Biden,

 

We, 587 family members of 80 Israeli hostages in Gaza, extend our deepest gratitude to you and your administration for your unwavering support and decisive actions in facilitating the release of our loved ones and are seeking ways to help you help us.

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Specifically, we are immensely grateful for the hostage release deal currently being brokered by the American negotiators. We recognize that these efforts are at a critical moment and we understand that you need to push all parties, including Egypt, Qatar, and Israel, to conclude and implement this deal. We highly appreciate your willingness to do so, and state, unequivocally, that we support, and desperately need, your efforts. We encourage you to use the means available to you, to press and convince all parties, including the Israeli Prime Minister, to agree to the deal that you assess is reasonable.

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Simply put, ensuring the hostage deal strengthens Israel's security. As Israel's closest ally, we seek your assistance in steering the Israeli Prime Minister towards the right course of action. Above all, the Israeli public yearns for the safe return of the hostages. We are reaching out to you because we are increasingly frustrated and worried about the lack of ongoing communication and commitment from the Israeli Prime Minister and the War Cabinet to the hostage release cause.

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We stand ready to work closely with your administration to mobilize the Israeli people and to articulate to the American people and their elected officials the need to support the current deal. We believe that the hostage families could play an important role in garnering public support to make the deal possible.

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From the outset, your administration has demonstrated empathy and determination in addressing the plight of the hostages held in Gaza. Your prompt and decisive efforts have brought attention to their dire condition and played a crucial role in advancing negotiations for their release.

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We wish to express our appreciation for your previous mediation efforts, which resulted in the release of over one hundred of our loved ones. Yet, while we celebrate their safe return, our thoughts remain with those who are still in captivity, enduring unimaginable hardship. They are suffering physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, hunger, and an immediate risk to their lives. They are dying with every passing hour and day. Now, time is of the essence, and we share your urgency in ensuring the safe return of our loved ones to their families-- all 134 of them.

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Mr. President, the families of the hostages and the people of Israel deeply appreciate your leadership and dedication to resolving this crisis. We have faith in your ability to negotiate a deal that prioritizes the security and well-being of all people affected and wish to help in mobilizing support for that deal.

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Gratefully,

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On behalf of the hostages’ families signed below,

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Cc: United States Vice President, Kamala Harris

United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken

United States National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan

 

Family members of the following Israeli hostages have signed the letter:

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