BBCAn American Israeli man who was taken captive by Hamas has told the BBC that US President Donald Trump has the power to secure the release of the remaining hostages and end the war in Gaza.
66 -year -old Keith Sigal was abducted from Kibutz Kefeer Aja on 7 October 2023 during an Hamas -led attacks on Israel. He was shut down in captivity after 484 days in February this, in which Trump helped the broker under a ceasefire deal.
He was taken with his wife, Aviva, which was held for 51 days before being freed during the earlier ceasefire.
Shri Seagal was speaking before a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump at the White House on Monday evening.
In an interview at Tel Aviv, he thanked Trump for achieving his release and said that the President can now do the same for the remaining 50 hostages, of which 20 are still alive.
“I believe they have great strength, strength and ability to pressurize them, which need to put pressure on them, to achieve the agreement from both sides, to sign the deal, and to bring all the hostages back and bring it to war,” he said.
Trump has said that he hopes that a new ceasefire and hostage release deal will be agreed this week, but it seems that there are still important intervals between Israel and Hamas.
According to the Palestinian official, both sides resumed indirect talks in Qatar on Sunday evening, but they ended without any success after three hours.
Prior to flying to Washington DC, Netanyahu said he believes that his meeting with Trump “can definitely help to pursue the result, resulting in all of us expecting”.
It is believed that the scheme includes the shocking release of 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 dead hostages in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
Hamas said on Friday that he had given a “positive response”. But the Palestinian official said that he has requested several changes, including an American guarantee that enmity would not resume when the conversation fails at the end of the war – a idea Netanyahu has rejected before.
RootsMr. Seigel described in a vivid detail how Hamas members defeated him and taunted him, and said he was still harassed by the torture of a female prisoner.
He said that Hamas operators had taken him to 33 different places through the streets of Gaza, sometimes in the daylight, during his imprisonment.
Asked if he would support a deal that issued the hostage, but saw that Hamas remained in power in Gaza, he replied: “This is the highest priority and urgency to bring back all 50 hostages as soon as possible.”
But he continued: “We cannot give Hamas to threaten people and kill people, and I think Hamas is responsible for death on both sides.”
Gaza’s Hamas-Interested Health Ministry says more than 57,000 people have been killed since Israel started a military campaign in response to the October 7 attacks, during which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were held hostage in Israel.
I asked Mr. Sagal, because he continues to campaign for the release of the remaining hostages, does his thoughts also focus on the suffering of the Ghazan population.
“I believe that peace and security for all people and freedom … are basic human rights that are entitled to every person,” he said.
“I think it is the responsibility of all leadership to ensure that this happens. Any innocent person who is hurt or killed or murdered is something that I hope or I dream will not happen.”
