Families of Gaza hostages say they have low expectations for Netanyahu address to Congress

The families of several hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza expressed little enthusiasm for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to lawmakers, saying they met with him this week and did not receive any encouraging news.

Netanyahu, who is set to address a joint session of Congress Wednesday afternoon, met with Israeli hostage families at his hotel earlier this week and told them he was trying to balance the objectives of getting the hostages out while protecting the citizens of Israel, according to Jon Polin, the father of Hamas hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

On a potential cease-fire and hostage release deal, Netanyahu "said that the deal is getting closer but we're not there yet," according to Polin.

"We went back and suggested that at this point, it should not be one or the other, but that protecting the citizens of Israel, by the counts of the Minister of Defense, the head of the military, the head of Mossad [and] the head of Shin Bet, is at a point where they all feel like we have accomplished what we need to accomplish," he said at a press conference. "Now militarily, they feel like they can live with the price of any deal."

Other family members of hostages said they walked away with the understanding that a deal would not be signed right now and anything the Israeli prime minister says in his speech before Congress would be meaningless.

The frustration was evident among the families, who held gatherings this week and are slated to hold more Wednesday demanding the Israeli government and Palestinian militant group Hamas seal the deal to establish a cease-fire and free the hostages. Around 116 hostages still remain in Gaza, 44 of whom the Israeli military has said are dead.

Yehuda Cohen, the father of hostage Nimrod Cohen, said Netanyahu and the Israeli government were "doing nothing to release my son."

"The government is only thinking of its own survival," he said. "Our government is responsible and our government is abandoning and keeps on abandoning those hostages, they keep on abandoning my son."

Hamas took roughly 250 hostages in a surprise invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, when Palestinian fighters also killed some 1,200 people. Israel's retaliatory war in Gaza has killed more than 38,000 Palestinians.

A truce has not been reached since November, when dozens of hostages were freed, as Israel seeks the total destruction of Hamas and the Palestinian militant group pushes for an end to the war.

President Biden's latest proposal appears to have pushed both sides closer to a deal, with the U.S. indicating one is near the finish line. The proposal includes exchanging the most vulnerable hostages for a temporary cease-fire, a withdrawal of Israeli troops from populated and Palestinian prisoners, while a second phase would see a lasting cease-fire while negotiations continue to release the remaining hostages and end the war.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Tuesday that an "agreement is in sight."

"We think it's achievable, it doesn't mean we'll get there, but we have made progress in the talks," he told reporters.

But for the families, they keep getting signs that a deal is close without a finalized agreement, an aggravating process. The families feel the clock is ticking as more hostages are found dead in captivity, including two announced this week, Alex Dancyg, 75, and Yagev Buchshtav, 35.

Polin said he doesn't "want to hear any more that we're getting closer."

"I don't want to hear any more goalposts. I don't want to hear any more excuses," he said. "Our loved ones paid the price. They need to come home now."

"All we need is a deal. And it is already on the table right now," said Michael Levy, the brother of hostage Or Levy. "Every week we hear about more hostages being murdered."

Efrat Moshkoviz, the aunt of 20-year-old hostage Naama Levy, said she will be attending the speech and still remains optimistic that a deal can be reached, saying she has no other choice but to keep up her hopes. She wants Netanyahu in his address, which many Democrats have threatened to boycott, to make a concrete announcement on a cease-fire and hostage release deal.

“What we've heard so far … has been either vague or even combative at times,” she said. “What we are looking for is, ‘We can make this work, we know how to make this work.’"

Rachel Goldberg, the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, said she hopes that Biden can seal a deal now that he has dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, giving him more time to focus on issues like the war in Gaza.

"I am heartened and thankful that the president will now be able to be laser focused during the end of his term in office to returning these beloved hostages home and to bring more calm to our battered and complicated region," she said. "What a glorious and powerful legacy that will be. Godspeed."