Trump Meets Released Israeli Hostages

President Donald Trump welcomed recently freed Israeli hostages at the White House on Thursday, shortly after a significant peace agreement in the Middle East led to the release of survivors and some deceased captives from Hamas.

The gathering took place in the state dining room, right after a press briefing by press secretary Caroline Leavitt.

Trump greeted them warmly, stating, “You are no longer hostages. From today on, you are heroes.” He expressed his pleasure in meeting them, noting he was familiar with some of the previously rescued hostages. “We love you all, and our country loves you all, and the world is watching, and you are truly wonderful people,” he shared.

As a gesture of appreciation, every freed hostage received a presidential challenge coin from Trump.

This meeting followed a 20-point peace plan proposed by Hamas to cease hostilities in Gaza. On October 13, during Trump’s visit to Israel to address Congress, Hamas released 20 surviving Israeli hostages and began returning deceased inmates.

According to Bring Them Home Now, a group advocating for hostages, several individuals, including Matan Zangaukar and Yosef-Haim Ohana, who had been detained until October 13, attended the meeting at the White House.

In a statement shared after the meeting, Ayle Horn, a freed hostage, conveyed, “The fight is not over. We are here in Washington, D.C., to close our chapter, but there are still families living with the pain that our families endured. This won’t end until everyone goes home. We have a rally this Saturday night and we ask everyone to attend. Everyone needs to go home now.”

While Hamas has released all living hostages, reports indicate that 25 deceased hostages have been returned, but three bodies remain unaccounted for, including those of Israelis Ran Gviri and Dror Or, and Sudisak Rintarak from Thailand.