President Isaac Herzog today, Sunday, visited the families of hostages at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv.
Speaking afterwards to the media, the President stressed that Hamas must fulfil its obligations and release all the hostages - the living, the fallen, and the murdered - until the last one. He also emphasized that Israel did not seek war, and was looking forward to welcoming President Trump with the hope of seeing the region begin a new path toward cooperation.
President Herzog said: “Two years ago on October 7, Israel was brutally attacked, savagely attacked, by a barbaric terrorist organization, who have taken hostage our sons and daughters, burnt, raped, killed, without mercy, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of Israelis who were living in peace on a peaceful border with Gaza."
“Now, we are looking forward anxiously to seeing our hostages back home tomorrow, at the latest, and to seeing all the hostages, including the hostages who are not alive anymore. We are with their families, we are with the families of the hostages at large, and with the families of the hostages whose lives have been taken away by these savages, by these terrorists.
“Under the agreement that was carved out, Hamas has a full obligation to bring all of them to Israel, and we will meticulously follow up on it."
“We are anxiously and graciously looking forward to seeing President Trump tomorrow. President Trump will be received by masses of Israelis, by the nation of Israel in gratitude and with a deep sense of friendship. We admire him for his courage, for his leadership, for his stamina, for his commitment to bringing our hostages back home, and changing the reality in the Middle East towards a better direction. It’s not going to be easy. It’s always difficult. Especially if there will be a vacuum between the first stage and the second stage. Now they’re going to work out as to how to fulfill it with activities that will bring the change that is necessary according to the agreement."
“But most importantly, tomorrow, we will shed tears and receive our sons and daughter back home as soon as possible, with their families, joined by their families. We will grieve the loss of our heroes who went to fight and save their brothers and sisters and defend the State of Israel. We will hug those who will carry the wounds forever."
“I must conclude by saying: Many of our enemies, many of our bashers and haters tend to blame us for seeking war, for seeking the constant fight against our enemies. Not at all. As you can see, as we’ve always said: bring back the hostages, it will change the Middle East. As soon as the hostages are back, Israel is not going to war. Israel is committed to fulfill this agreement and Israel wants to seek peace with its neighbors and bring a change to the future of the region at last.”