The families of the American hostages are imploring President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team to work together with President Biden and his Administration officials to secure the immediate release of the hostages, according to a statement released Wednesday afternoon.
"For 397 days, Americans– Omer, Edan, Judi, Gad, Keith, Sagui and Itay– have suffered at the hands of Hamas terrorists in Gaza," the statement said.
"This is an urgent, catastrophic humanitarian crisis, not a partisan issue; our family members in captivity in Gaza need a bipartisan coalition of brave, committed leaders to bring them home," the families said, adding that the hostages cannot wait any longer.
"They are depending on us and on Republican and Democratic leaders to seize this moment," the families said.
In a separate statement, Liz Hirsh Naftali, the great aunt of four-year-old Abigail Mor Edan, who was taken hostage on October 7 and released 50 days later, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that the president-elect and Biden must pressure Prime Minister Netanyahu, Ron Dermer and Israeli leadership to make a deal "that demonstrates their unachieved commitment for over a year for the hostage release."
'This is the greatest priority for the day after election 2024'
They also must equally pressure Qatari, Egyptian, Iranian and gulf leadership to bring Hamas to a deal that releases the hostages once and for all, stops the fighting and brings humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in Gaza, according to Naftali.
"This is the greatest priority for the day after election 2024 as it relates to Israel and the hostages - make a deal to release all of the hostages, cease the fighting and bring humanitarian aid to Gaza," Naftali said. "Until then - everyone loses and sadly more hostages and innocent people will die."