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Freed American-Israeli Hostage Praises Trump, Urges US President to Continue Pushing Until All Captives Released
US President Donald Trump speaks during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the East Room at the White House in Washington, US, Feb. 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Leah Millis
Keith Siegel, an American-Israeli who was recently released from Gaza as part of the ongoing Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, lauded US President Donald Trump’s successful efforts to secure the release of hostages in a new video, urging Trump to continue fighting until the remaining captives are freed from the enclave.
“President Trump, you are the reason I am home alive. You are the reason I was reunited with my beloved wife, four children, and five grandchildren. Thank you,” Siegel said in the video released by his family and hostage advocacy groups. “Thank you for your continued fight against terror and for your bold leadership that has brought me and many others back home, to our families, to safety and to security.”
Siegel, 65, pressed Trump to continue his work on securing the freedom of the remaining captives in Gaza. He touted Trump’s “strength and leadership” while urging the US president to “put an end to the unnecessarily daily dangers” endured by the hostages.
“Mr. President, once again your leadership, power, and authority are necessary to enforce the ceasefire and put an end to the unnecessary daily dangers to the lives of innocent hostages and civilians. Your leadership and strength will ensure the agreement is honored by all sides,” Siegel said “That is what will allow all 76 hostages to return home to their families. I trust your strength and leadership, Mr. President. The helpless hostages in the dark, cold tunnels in Gaza also trust you.”
The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas on Friday announced the next three hostages set for release from Gaza on Saturday, at least for the moment preserving the fragile ceasefire from collapse.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a statement saying Israel accepted the list of names, but that was later corrected to say Israel had simply “received” the list.
“This was a mere factual description that does not reflect an Israeli comment on the issue,” the updated statement noted
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 last month’s ceasefire and hostage-release deal, the first phase of which is set to last six weeks.
Siegel wrote that while in Gaza he “lived in constant fear” and was “starved and tortured, both physically and emotionally” by Hamas.
Trump made returning the hostages and punishing Hamas a centerpiece of his presidential campaign. He had repeatedly criticized his predecessor, former US President Joe Biden, for allegedly impeding Israel’s ability to successfully defeat Hamas and securing the release of the hostages in Gaza.
Under phase one of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the terrorist group agreed to free a total of 33 Israeli hostages, eight of whom are deceased, and in exchange, Israel would release over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom are serving life sentences for terrorist activity. Thus far, 16 of the 33 hostages have been released from Gaza during the first phase.
Last week, Hamas threatened to renege on its agreement to release a new batch of hostages from the coastal enclave, accusing Israel of violating the terms of the ceasefire by preventing Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza, firing missiles into Gaza, and obstructing humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. Israel vehemently denied these allegations and threatened to restart the war if the terrorist group did not release the hostages who it originally agreed to free.
Trump subsequently encouraged Israel to resume the war in Gaza and “let hell break out” if Hamas refused to release all the remaining hostages on Saturday.
“As far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 o’clock, I think it’s an appropriate time. I would say, cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out. I’d say they ought to be returned by 12 o’clock on Saturday,” Trump said to reporters.
Currently, 76 hostages remain in Gaza, including 73 kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023.
The post Freed American-Israeli Hostage Praises Trump, Urges US President to Continue Pushing Until All Captives Released first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.