U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking last night in Washington following his inauguration, brought former hostages Noa Argamani and Shoshan Haran, along with hostage families, onto the stage before his address. When asked if he believed all phases of the hostage deal would be implemented, Trump responded, "I'm not sure."
"We won. We won, but now the work begins. We have to bring them home," Trump said. Later, he spoke on the Gaza war and welcomed the former hostages: "For the former hostages here today, welcome home." He also referred the three released hostages Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari, released from Hamas captivity on Sunday.
U.S. President Donald Trump on hostage deal
(Video: FOX NEWS)
Trump continued addressing the released hostages: "We never stopped praying for you, and we’re so glad that you’re reunited with your friends and families.” He also spoke about the hostages still held by Hamas, pointing to the parents of Omer Neutra: "Some families are saying, 'My son won’t return, but please bring his body home.' This should never have happened."
Trump added that had he been president on October 7, the massacre wouldn’t have taken place. "Iran would’ve been broke, without money for Hamas or Hezbollah and your children would be alive. They certainly wouldn’t be imprisoned like they are now. But we’ll get many of them out shortly."
Meanwhile, William Burns, who ended his term as CIA director on Monday with the conclusion of Joe Biden's administration, was a central figure in the talks for reaching a hostage deal.
Over the past 15 months, he held "daily phone calls" with Mossad chief David Barnea and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed al-Thani, searching for a breakthrough in the negotiations, according to an interview he gave to The New York Times.
"This probably has been the most complicated negotiations I have been involved in, in the sense it was indirect talks twice removed," Burns said in the interview. He noted that many negotiations involve emotions and enthusiasm.
"Lots of negotiations are passionate, but here you had this human predicament of hostages and their families, innocent civilians in Gaza suffering terrible conditions for the last 15 months." According to him, these were not just "texts," but talks "about real human beings whose lives were in danger.”
Since October 7, 2023, Burns has made 19 trips to the region attempting to mediate on the issues of the Gaza war and hostages. Until this week, just before Donald Trump's inauguration, the talks seemed like a failed mission in Burns's career.
Ultimately, the agreement reached aligned with the multi-phase approach that Burns and the American team tried to dictate: the release of some hostages in exchange for prisoners, aid and the partial withdrawal of Israeli forces in Gaza.
Former hostages going on stage in Washington
(Video: C SPAN)
The complex issues concerning Gaza's future were deferred to later stages of the negotiations. Burns and Biden, as reported in the outlet, pushed this formula for months. According to Burns, what changed was that Hamas's military leaders felt "beleaguered," with their forces significantly weakened.
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Meanwhile, Israel's strikes on Iran and Hezbollah created political space for the deal. " The Israeli political leadership is beginning to see that perfect is not on the menu here, but they have achieved a lot of what they wanted to achieve," Burns told the outlet.
Bruns added the question facing Israel is how to translate tactical victories against Iran and Hezbollah into strategic success. Burns and his colleagues in the U.S. intelligence community believe that a cease-fire and the hostages' release are crucial components of this process.