Three hundred days ago today, Hamas terrorists set fire to Israel. They burned homes, raped women, murdered more than 1,000 innocent people and took hundreds more captive. Amid the death and destruction, our son — 20-year-old Edan Alexander, an American from Tenafly, N.J. — was taken hostage. We have not heard a word from him since.
In a private meeting in the White House Cabinet room last Thursday, the families of American hostages sat beside the prime minister and President Joe Biden, and we did not mince words.
Edan is one of 120 hostages — eight of whom are American — still trapped in the darkness of Hamas captivity. It is a world governed by torture, starvation and the constant fear of death. Despite this gruesome reality, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has put his personal political fortunes ahead of the release of innocent lives for nearly 10 months. In his appeal to the U.S. Congress last Wednesday, he hardly mentioned the hostages (American and Israeli) he has left behind.
In a private meeting in the White House Cabinet room last Thursday, the families of American hostages sat beside the prime minister and President Joe Biden, and we did not mince words. We demanded answers from the prime minister: We told him that enough is enough, and in response, he committed to a three-phase proposal to release the remaining hostages. He said that it would only be a matter of days before we saw action. There would be no new requirements for Hamas, no new setbacks, and soon, the ball would again be in Hamas’ court.
He not only made this promise to us, he did it in front of an audience that included Biden and national security advisor Jake Sullivan — two people we know are in our corner and who we trust to hold Netanyahu accountable. We left the meeting hopeful, but during this agonizing process of negotiations, we’ve learned to keep our optimism in check.
What now, Mr. Prime Minister? You vowed to make the hostages your priority and to waste no time in bringing them home. A week has come and gone since our meeting, and Edan is still in hell. Instead of expediting a deal, you have added new demands that you promised to avoid.
So, when exactly are you going to close this deal?
You came to our country — to request our government’s support — and you are still standing in the way of our son’s release. We’re grateful that you met with us. We’re even more grateful that you committed to the total and swift release of the hostages. But words are nothing until Edan is in our arms.
Edan does not have the luxury of time. Israeli authorities have pronounced a third of the remaining hostages dead, with the two most recent deaths announced just last week. We cannot delay the end of the war in Gaza any longer. In Israel, Netanyahu’s own defense and intelligence officials have said so. In the U.S., both presidential candidates have called for an end to the war, and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have shared their support for a hostage deal.
The world is watching where Netanyahu goes from here. He made a spectacle of coming to America. He now has Washington’s attention and the attention of more than 20 other countries that count hostages in Gaza as their own. It is time Israel’s leader shows us new solutions.
We are done with the political theater, Mr. Prime Minister. We need a statesman negotiating our son’s release, not a showman. We implore you to make good on what you promised us last week, put forth a hostage deal that Hamas will accept, and devote all of your energy towards seeing it through.
