Israeli hostage families urge Trump to press Netanyahu for Gaza deal

Families of Israeli captives in Gaza on Tuesday urged US President Donald Trump to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into striking a swap deal with Palestinians.

The appeal came in a statement delivered by the families outside the US Embassy in Tel Aviv in both English and Hebrew, according to Yedioth Ahronoth.

"The bottleneck for your new Middle East vision and a Nobel Peace prize is the release of the hostages and a Gaza ceasefire," said the families.

On Sunday, Israel's Security Cabinet met to discuss Netanyahu's plan to occupy Gaza City, known as "Gideon's Chariots 2," a continuation of "Gideon's Chariots," which the Israeli army launched in Gaza between May 16 and Aug. 6.

That same day, Channel 12 revealed an internal classified army document admitting the failure of "Gideon's Chariots" to achieve its stated goals, chiefly defeating Hamas and bringing back the hostages.

"President Trump, this is your moment. This is your deal. Built with American leadership, ready to be signed," the families said in their statement.

Israel has begun mobilizing some 60,000 reservists to take part in its planned occupation of Gaza City, the army confirmed Tuesday.

Israel has killed more than 63,600 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.