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Hours after hostages released, families rally in DC

NOTES BETWEEN PRINTED EDITIONS1

Brother of slain hostage Omer Neutra tells JNS, “He’s a hero, and he deserves to be buried in the Land of Israel.”

By Mike Wagenheim via JNS

Some 100 supporters stood with hostages’ family members on Sunday in the shadow of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., to call for their safe return from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip.

The rally, planned by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an Israeli group representing some of the hostages’ families, came a few hours after the first three Israeli hostages were released by Hamas as part of the ceasefire that took effect earlier in the day.

In frigid conditions that led to cancellation of Monday’s planned outdoor presidential inauguration, the families mainly addressed the media, with passers-by stopping occasionally to ask questions.

“We are dealing with monsters. Hamas is a monster organization,” Liran Berman, older brother of twin captives Ziv and Gali Berman of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, told JNS. “We expect them to do their worst in this deal, but we hope that the international community and the Israeli government and the Israel Defense Forces will make sure that the deal goes through.”

Liran Berman speaks at a rally in Washington, D.C., Jan. 19, 2025. Photo by Liri Agami.

He expressed concern regarding his brothers, whom he said “are running out of time. Every moment that they remain in captivity is another moment their lives are at risk. We have already seen hostages murdered in captivity. We cannot afford to lose even one more.”

Jonathan Dekel-Chen at a rally in Washington, D.C., Jan. 19, 2025. Photo by Liri Agami.

Jonathan Dekel-Chen is the Israeli-American father of Sagui, kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Asked whether he has faith that the Trump administration will continue to focus on the hostages over the coming weeks and months, he said he has heard a repeated “absolute commitment” from President-elect Donald Trump’s team “to complete this agreement until the final hostage comes home.”

Berman watched the three hostages being released earlier in the morning with a sense of happiness. He said he has known two of the them—Doron Steinbecher and Emily Damari, also residents of Kfar Aza—“since they were little kids.”

However, he knows his brothers would only qualify for release during the second phase of the deal, which is many weeks away, if it comes to pass at all.

“I’m here to urge President Trump to see the deal through until the last hostage. So I’m hopeful. Hope will die last, and we’ll do whatever we can to bring everyone home.”

Noa Argamani, who became one of the more well-known faces of the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023, was kidnapped to Gaza with her boyfriend, Avinatan Or. After 245 days in captivity, Argamani and three other hostages were rescued from Gaza and she was reunited with her ailing mother three weeks before her death.

Or, however, remains a hostage.

Noa Argamani at a rally in Washington, D.C., Jan. 19, 2025. Photo by Liri Agami.

“Until Avinatan returns, my heart is in captivity, and I will never feel truly free until all of them come back home again,” Argamani told those in attendance at the Sunday rally.

She stressed the urgency of the moment, describing her time as a hostage as one in which “every second feels like the last second of life. This is why it’s absolutely critical that we put an end to this terrible tragedy and commit to a full and complete deal.”

Dekel-Chen did the same, noting that, earlier Sunday, the body of IDF soldier Oron Shaul was extracted from Gaza in a special operation hours before the ceasefire took effect. Shaul was killed in Gaza 10-and-a-half years ago.

“That’s a stern reminder of the urgency of the situation. We must not stop,” he said. “This is an amazing American moment today, at the cusp of transition between the Biden and Trump administrations that have worked shoulder to shoulder—in this incredibly partisan time in which we live—on behalf of the hostages. We know their commitment. We feel their commitment. We need their commitment for all 98 to come home.”

Daniel Neutra spoke on behalf of his family on Sunday. He’s the brother of Israeli-American hostage Omer Neutra, who was thought to have been kidnapped alive by Hamas, only for Israeli authorities to declare this past December had he been killed on Oct. 7, 2023. Omer’s body remains in Gaza.

Daniel Neutra speaks at a rally in Washington, D.C., Jan. 19, 2025. Photo by Liri Agami.

While Daniel told JNS he feels “a lot of happiness” over Sunday’s return of the three hostages, “it’s the start of a possibly long journey here and the effort that we’re going to need to put in cannot stop.”

He said that if Israel can get back all of the hostages—living and dead—then “hopefully we can reach some kind of peace with ourselves. My brother went to Israel and was drafted out of his own choice to defend the people of Israel. He’s a hero, and he deserves to be buried in the Land of Israel and not to be held by Hamas for who knows how long.”


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