Dozens of family members of Israeli hostages held in Gaza by Hamas gathered for a demonstration of solidarity on Tuesday outside the US Capitol in Washington DC, Arutz Sheva-Israel National News spoke with two of them.

"We're Americans, our son is American, he was born in New York," said Ronen Neutra, whose son Omer has been held hostage for over nine months.

He continued: "We just met yesterday with Jake Sullivan, we know the deal is very close, we know it requires strong leadership. Bibi Netanyahu comes here as the Prime Minister of Israel to give a speech in front of a joint session of Congress. It's important that he talks on behalf of Israel, but it's also critical that he meets with President Biden and that he puts everything on the line to close the deal. We are so close. We have to bring them home now, this is probably the last opportunity to seal the deal."

Neutra relates the challenges his family has faced: "It's not easy. Last week we were at the Republican Convention in Milwaukee, we took the stage, it's not easy. We have to pull ourselves every day and say 'What are we doing today to bring back our son?' Day by day, there are lots of activities. We have to find the energy, the people around us give us energy, it's so heartwarming.

"Everybody believes that now is the time. We spoke to Prime Minister Netanyahu last night, and we expect him to announce this week in Washington that things are progressing and he's going to close the deal any day now," he added.

He noted that Prime Minister Netanyahu told them that "the conditions are starting to come together. We know from Minister Gallant, we know from the army, we know from everyone, including the White House, that the conditions are there. It requires strong leadership, we expect President Biden to say that to Prime Minister Netanyahu. We expect the Prime Minister to step up, take tough decisions, show the leader that he can be and that he should be at this tough time, to bring our kids home."

Adi Alexander, father of hostage Edan Alexander, added: "The message here is to take this opportunity and to seal the deal. All the stars are in the right place, it's a perfect storm, so we have to take advantage of this to seal the deal."

He noted that his family has lived in America for the past 20 years, "Edan grew up here. He graduated from the Tenafly Highschool that and decided that he was going to enlist in the IDF, and he became part of the Golani Brigade. We were very proud.

"On that particular day, which was a really hectic day for him, he was taken hostage and has been held for more than 291 days along with another 119 hostages, among them eight Americans. So we wish for them all to come back immediately and after this visit, this is what we expect from the Prime Minister and President Biden," he concluded.