The families of American-Israeli hostages in Gaza met with US National Security adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday in Washington to press for their immediate release, according to the Hostages Families Forum Headquarters.
The forum says at least eight American-Israelis were taken hostage by Hamas. Five of them are still thought to be held alive in Gaza. Another, 19-year-old Itay Chen, was confirmed dead by the Israel Defense Forces last month.
The families shared their concerns with Sullivan that their loved ones will be next if negotiations continue to drag out, according to the forum, and told Sullivan that all hostages, “both the living and the murdered,” must be brought home immediately.
The National Security Council has not commented on the meeting, but according to the forum, Sullivan told attendees that the Biden administration is doing all it can to advance a deal that the US, Israel, Qatar, and Egypt have agreed to. CIA Director Bill Burns traveled to Cairo over the weekend where he presented a new proposal to try and help broker a deal between Israel and Hamas and bridge the gap between the two sides.
Vice President Kamala Harris is planning to meet with the families this afternoon, the second such meeting since Hamas' deadly attack on Israel on October 7 last year, according to an advisory from her office. The meeting is closed to the press.