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Mike Johnson, Chuck Schumer Invite Israeli Hostages and Their Parents to Trump Speech to Congress
US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson stands in the House of Representatives ahead of US President Joe Biden’s third State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, March 7, 2024. Photo: Shawn Thew/Pool via REUTERS
US congressional leaders Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mike Johnson (R-LA) have invited some of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, and their parents to attend President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night.
Former hostage Noa Argamani has reportedly accepted the invitation of Johnson, the speaker of the House of Representatives, to attend Trump’s speech. Likewise, Orna Neutra and Ruby Chen, the parents of murdered hostages Omer Neutra and Itay Chen, will attend as guests of Schumer, the Senate’s minority leader.
Johnson said that he feels “honored” that Argamani will attend the US president’s joint address to Congress. The Speaker of the House lauded Argamani for displaying “incredible strength and courage” while being held captive by the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza.
In his statement, Schumer lamented the “vicious cruelty of Hamas,” saying he was inspired by the “perseverance” of both Neutra and Chen.
“I am honored that Noa Argamani will be joining us at President Trump’s joint address to Congress,” Johnson told the New York Post. “Despite experiencing the unimaginable in the hands of Hamas, Noa has demonstrated incredible strength and courage.”
Separately, a group of seven hostages saved from Hamas captivity — Eli Sharabi, Doron Steinbrecher, Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel, Naama Levy, Omer Shem Tov, and Iair Horn — are expected to visit Washington, DC to meet with Trump administration officials and thank the president for helping to secure their release. In addition, the former hostages are expected to detail their experiences while living in Gaza and push for the release of the remaining hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded Sharabi’s resilience and encouraged him to relay his story to Trump.
“I deeply appreciate the courageous way you are sharing your experience, and it is also important that you share it with President Trump,” Netanyahu said on Sunday. “Our goal is to bring all the hostages home – and we will not relent for a moment.”
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists started the war in Gaza when they murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages during their invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in the neighboring enclave. The conflict raged for nearly 16 months until both sides agreed to January’s ceasefire and hostage-release deal, the first phase of which lasted six weeks.
Negotiations are underway to possibly extend the ceasefire.
Netanyahu announced on Sunday that Israel would block all aid into Gaza after the Hamas terrorist group rejected a six-week extension of the current agreement. The proposal would mandate that Hamas release half of the remaining Israeli hostages who were kidnapped into Gaza during the beginning of the extension. The rest of the hostages would be released at the end of the extension, if Hamas and Israel can agree on a permanent ceasefire deal. Israel would retain the right to restart the war in Gaza if negotiations are unsuccessful by the 42-day mark.
The post Mike Johnson, Chuck Schumer Invite Israeli Hostages and Their Parents to Trump Speech to Congress first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Readies for a Nationwide Strike on Sunday
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – The families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza are calling on for a general strike to be held on Sunday in an effort to compel the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a deal with Hamas for the release of their loved ones and a ceasefire. According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, of whom 20 are believed to be alive.
The October 7 Council and other groups representing bereaved families of hostages and soldiers who fell since the start of the war declared they were “shutting down the country to save the soldiers and the hostages.”
While many businesses said they would join the strike, Israel’s largest labor federation, the Histadrut, has declined to participate.
Some of the country’s top educational institutions, including the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University, declared their support for the strike.
“We, the members of the university’s leadership, deans, and department heads, hereby announce that on Sunday, each and every one of us will participate in a personal strike as a profound expression of solidarity with the hostage families,” the Hebrew University’s deal wrote to students.
The day will begin at 6:29 AM, to commemorate the start of the October 7 attack, with the first installation at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. Further demonstrations are planned at dozens of traffic intersections.
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Netanyahu ‘Has Become a Problem,’Says Danish PM as She Calls for Russia-Style Sanctions Against Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the press on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
i24 News – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become a “problem,” his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen said Saturday, adding she would try to put pressure on Israel over the Gaza war.
“Netanyahu is now a problem in himself,” Frederiksen told Danish media, adding that the Israeli government is going “too far” and lashing out at the “absolutely appalling and catastrophic” humanitarian situation in Gaza and announced new homes in the West Bank.
“We are one of the countries that wants to increase pressure on Israel, but we have not yet obtained the support of EU members,” she said, specifying she referred to “political pressure, sanctions, whether against settlers, ministers, or even Israel as a whole.”
“We are not ruling anything out in advance. Just as with Russia, we are designing the sanctions to target where we believe they will have the greatest effect.”
The devastating war in Gaza began almost two years ago, with an incursion into Israel of thousands of Palestinian armed jihadists, who perpetrated the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
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As Alaska Summit Ends With No Apparent Progress, Zelensky to Meet Trump on Monday
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at the press conference after the opening session of Crimea Platform conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, 23 August 2023. The Crimea Platform – is an international consultation and coordination format initiated by Ukraine. OLEG PETRASYUK/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – After US President Donald Trump hailed the “great progress” made during a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he was set to meet Trump on Monday at the White House.
“There were many, many points that we agreed on, most of them, I would say, a couple of big ones that we haven’t quite gotten there, but we’ve made some headway,” Trump told reporters during a joint press conference after the meeting.
Many observers noted, however, that the subsequent press conference was a relatively muted affair compared to the pomp and circumstance of the red carpet welcome, and the summit produced no tangible progress.
Trump and Putin spoke briefly, with neither taking questions, and offered general statements about an “understanding” and “progress.”
Putin, who spoke first, agreed with Trump’s long-repeated assertion that Russia never would have invaded Ukraine in 2022 had Trump been president instead of Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump said “many points were agreed to” and that “just a very few” issues were left to resolve, offering no specifics and making no reference to the ceasefire he’s been seeking.