US envoy meets Israeli hostage families at Tel Aviv

Witkoff was received with applause and prayers for help from hundreds of protesters gathered at Tel Aviv before going to a closed meeting with families.

The Missing Hostages and Family Forum confirmed that the meeting was under way and scattered videos showed Witkoff coming as families cheered us back home! ” and “We need your help”.

The visit came a day after Witkoff visited a US-backed relief station in Gaza to inspect efforts to bring food to the destroyed Palestinian territory.

Yotam Cohen, brother of 21-year-old hostage Nimrod Cohen, told AFP: “The war must be over. The Israeli government will not willingly complete it. She has refused to do this”

The Israeli government must stop. For our sake, for the sake of our soldiers, for the sake of our hostages, for our sons and for the future generations of all in the Middle East”.

After the meeting, the forum issued a statement saying that Wtkoff had pledged a personal commitment that he and US President Donald Trump would work to return the remaining hostages.

The United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, had mediated ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel that would allow the release of hostages and the cheaper flow of humanitarian aid.

But the talks ended last month, and the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyah is under increased domestic pressure to find another way to secure missing, alive and dead hostages.

He is also facing international calls to open Gaza's borders for more food aid, as the UN and humanitarian agencies warned that more than two million Palestinian civilians are facing hunger.

Hamas' attack in 2023 resulted in the death of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an official figure-based count.

A total of 898 Israeli soldiers were killed... killed, according to the army.

Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed at least 60,332 people, mainly civilians, according to figures by the Hamas-led health ministry of territory, considered reliable by the UN. /Periscope