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Families of Hostages Taken by Hamas Have a Message for Biden and His 'Unacceptable' Plans for Gaza

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  June 05, 2024 4:00 PM

Last Friday, President Joe Biden laid out a ceasefire proposal as part of the Israel-Hamas War, which will involve using American taxpayer dollars to rebuild the Gaza Strip. There's been pushback from Israel over the validity of the details, especially since they involve what the Jewish State would never agree to, though our ally in the Middle East isn't the only one displeased with Biden's announcement. 

On Tuesday afternoon, a group known as the Tikva Forum for Families of Hostages released a statement from their X account making clear they want Biden to step back from his meddling.

"The Biden administration's continued pressure on the Israeli government's decision-making during this existential war is unacceptable," the post began. "The outline proposed by President Biden, ostensibly on behalf of the Israeli government, is a proposal that endangers the future of the State of Israel."

The post also gets into why Biden's plans are so disastrous for the future of Israel:

Hamas must be completely destroyed. Every sign of weakness will empower it to commit the next massacre. 

The abductees will only be returned if Hamas is totally dismantled and begs for help. 

If Gazans are allowed to return to the northern Gaza Strip before the release of all the hostages, Israel will lose a key form of pressure. One that can cost our hostages' lives.

Approximately 250 hostages were taken by Hamas on October 7, who also murdered 1,200 Israelis, most of them civilians, through unspeakable means. Not even babies or Holocaust survivors were spared. Earlier this week, it was reported that four more hostages were confirmed to be dead.

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The post concludes by tagging Biden's official account and appeals to how he has claimed to be a supporter of Israel, although that support among Biden, his administration, and the Democratic Party as a whole has been slipping. Referring to Biden as "Honorable," the post asks that he "respect the decisions made by Israel's elected leadership and stand by us as a true ally in this difficult time."

Notably, Hamas reportedly views Biden's plan announce on Friday in a positive light, per Reuters. The president continues to post about his plan over social media, and while he wouldn't volunteer much when asked about Israel, he continued to express more concerns about those in Gaza with his recent interview with TIME. 

The president was also specifically asked about U.S. hostages, and whether they are still alive. "We believe there are those that are still alive. I met with all the families. But we don't have final proof on exactly who's alive and who's not alive," Biden responded in part.

Biden has talked a big talk about freeing the hostages, but Americans still remain in captivity. During a temporary ceasefire late last November, which Hamas broke, American citizens were left behind during hostage negotiations. It took until the third round for an American hostage, 4-year-old Abigail Idan, to be released. Many of the hostages still remain in captivity. 

Late last month, Biden even claimed at a White House event celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month that one of the American hostages, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was present at the event. Biden then corrected himself in real time, noting "he is not here with us, but he's still being held by Hamas."