Trump's return to office raises hope for the hostages
Ronen and Orna Neutra, whose son Omar was killed by Hamas, joined “Fox & Friends Weekend” to discuss the ceasefire agreement and Hamas' willingness to release hostages amid President-elect Donald Trump's return to office.
like President-elect Donald Trump As he prepares for his return to the White House, a long-awaited ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is unfolding, offering hope to the families of the hostages, though some acknowledge it is a “deal with the devil.”
“Before President Trump was elected, (the deal) was stuck,” Ronen Neutra, whose son Omar was killed by Hamas terrorists, told Fox News on Sunday.
“Let's face it, the fact that President Trump had a clear message, 'By my inauguration, I want to see the hostages out, or there's hell to pay,' had a huge impact in the Middle East, and we're hopeful that with his leadership, we'll see all 98 hostages.” “They are leaving starting today with the three hostages.”
“We know their families, we're very emotionally involved in this as well, and we're thrilled to see them come out,” he added.
US President-elect Donald Trump speaks to the media after a meeting with Republican senators at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. (Valerie Blish/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump promised to “pay everything” if the remaining Hamas prisoners were not released by his inauguration date in a post on Truth Social last year. The letter offered a ray of hope to some families of the prisoners, including them The person who called the message “Exactly the kind of language we were missing.”
Ronen and his stepson Orna Omar, a tank platoon commander in the IDF and an American of Israeli descent Long Island, New Yorkwho was long believed to be a Hamas prisoner, was recently identified as having been killed by the terrorist group on October 7, 2023.
His parents, who have remained vocal about their demands for the safe return of the hostages, plan to attend Trump's inauguration in Washington, D.C., on Monday.
Before the ceremony, hostages Doron Steinbrecher, Rumi Gonen and Emily Damari were released in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas on Sunday.
Orna Neutra responded to the release during Sunday's special pre-inauguration broadcast of “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
“We've become one family, all the families of the hostages. We've been going through these crazy emotions for 15 months now, and we've heard so much about these young women. We've become really close to their families.” “Families, and we are very, very excited and full of anticipation to meet them and hopefully see them rehabilitate and move on with their lives,” she said.
Additional hostages are scheduled to be released in the second phase.
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The Palestinians are Celebrating the same Gaza ceasefire agreement.
“This is a deal with the devil,” Ronin Neutra said. “These terrorists, they killed 1,200 people in one day – the worst day in Israel's history since the Holocaust, and they killed, in that moment, 45 Americans, so of course, it's horrific to see them celebrating now, but you know what? We celebrate because we believe in the dignity of life, and they They believe in the dignity of death, and we believe that Every Soul Matters 98 people return to the leadership of President Trump.”
“We trust him. We know he will do it,” he added. “We know that he will push all the partners in the region, in the Middle East, to make sure that these 98 come back – including our son. We have to get our son to a proper burial. He deserves it.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
