Hoyer Statement on Ceasefire-Hostage Deal
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) released the following statement today regarding the announcement of a ceasefire-hostage deal between Israel and Hamas:
"The hostage deal announced today between Israel and Hamas will hopefully act as a step toward securing the release of all 98 hostages whom Hamas has held captive in Gaza for the past 467 days. The first phase of the agreement requires Hamas to release 33 of the hostages over the next 42 days. I am hopeful that we can secure the release of all the remaining Israelis and other foreign nationals taken hostage during Hamas' vicious October 7 attack through the forthcoming negotiations on the second phase of the deal. That includes the seven Americans, living and dead, still in captivity: Edan Alexander, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Gadi and Judi Haggai, Omer Neutra, Keith Siegel, and my dear friends Ruby and Hagit Chen’s son, Itay, who was killed on October 7. Not all the Americans – Itay among them – will return during this first phase, but I will not rest until their families can hold them in their arms or lay their bodies to rest to sit shiva.
"Over the past 15 months, I have met with many of the hostages' families both in America and Israel and seen their grief and fortitude firsthand. I am eager to see many of them reunited with their family members in the coming weeks. For the families whose loved ones were murdered by Hamas, I hope the return of human remains brings them some degree of closure and solace.
"Every day since October 7, President Biden and his top officials – including Antony Blinken, Bill Burns, Jake Sullivan, Brett McGurk, Barbara Leaf, Amos Hochstein, Dan Shapiro, and Mira Resnick, among many others – stood steadfast in their support of Israel. I commend their tireless work with Egyptian and Qatari intermediaries to bring more hostages home and keep Israel safe. This deal was only possible because Israel, with American support, degraded the military capacity of Iran, Hezbollah, and other Iranian proxies and their ability to support Hamas' terrorism against Israel.
"The period since October 7 has been extremely turbulent for the region and traumatic for these hostage families and for Jews in Israel, America, and beyond. Although I remain wary given Hamas’ violation of past ceasefires, I pray this agreement will achieve its goal of alleviating this pain and restoring stability throughout the region. We must never allow October 7 to be repeated or Hamas' brutal leadership over Gaza to be restored.
"We must continue our work to secure not only the remaining hostages but also Israel's long-term security."