On Tuesday evening the Hostages and Missing Families Forum condemned the statement made by Ophir Falk, political advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during his meeting with the families in the US.
In the statement of condemnation, the families wrote, “The Hostages and Missing Families Forum condemns the statement made by the political advisor to the Prime Minister for his baseless words, according to which ‘Hamas does not want a deal.’ Ophir Falk’s statement to the families is not true, is contrary to the position of the security forces, and what was stated this evening by the Minister of Defense himself.”
The families added: "Falk's outburst is an additional manifestation of the attempt to obstruct any military achievements and the political desire to thwart the hostages' deal. The mere fact that he said these things indicates that his part in the negotiations is sabotaging Israel’s chances to return the hostages, who have been abandoned for over nine months."
Rescued hostage, Noa Argamani, told Netanyahu about the period of her captivity, saying that one of the hardest things she experienced was the moment she heard Netanyahu say on the radio that the war would last long. "My hardest moment in captivity was when I heard you say that the war is still going on."
Argamani told Netanyahu that this statement made her lose hope that she would get to see her sick mother and that she would return home alive.
At the meeting, she also told the PM that “we must bring the hostages home as quick as possible, before it is too late."
Representatives of the hostage families who hold US citizenship issued a statement that in their meeting with the Prime Minister, they told him that "our family members who are being held captive by Hamas cannot wait any longer and you need to secure the deal now.”
They also said that "You are now on US soil, and we expect you to speak up about the eight American hostages in your speech to Congress and announce this week that you have reached a deal to bring them home. Any other outcome will be a failure of your visit to the US."
On the other hand, representatives of the Gvura and Tikva Forums called on Netanyahu not to move forward with the proposed deal.