Steve Witkoff, US President-elect Donald Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, participated on Sunday at a victory rally for Trump, ahead of his inauguration on Monday.
In his remarks, Witkoff commented on the release of Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari from Hamas captivity, as part of the hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.
“I just received on my phone pictures of the first three hostages who were released. We had a great team, but it doesn't happen without Donald J. Trump,” he stated.
“The President was responsible for this release, and we all owe him a debt of gratitude, as do all the families,” added Witkoff.
In early December 2024, Trump became personally involved in the issue of the hostages held in Gaza when he threatened that there would be "all hell to pay" if the hostages are not freed by the time of his inauguration on January 20.
Trump has repeated that threat multiple times in the weeks since. This past Thursday, before the deal was officially signed in Qatar, Trump again stressed the urgency of finalizing the agreement before his inauguration on Monday.
“We changed the course of it, and we changed it fast, and frankly, it better be done before I take the oath of office,” Trump stated during a podcast interview with Dan Bongino.
“We shook hands, and we signed certain documents, but it better be done,” he added.
On Saturday, Trump gave an interview to NBC News in which he commented on the ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Asked how confident he was that the hostages would be released, Trump replied, “Well, we’re going to see very soon, and it better hold.”
He also said he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “Just keep doing what you have to do. You have to have — this has to end. We want it to end, but to keep doing what has to be done.”