At a White House gathering held in honor of the National Day of Prayer on Thursday, President Donald Trump spoke about the hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza, indicating that fewer than two dozen remain alive.
While addressing those in attendance, Trump turned his attention to the parents of Edan Alexander, a dual American-Israeli citizen who is currently being held hostage. “I can not imagine your pain, but we’re all alongside you, we stand by you, and we’re going to do everything possible in the very short period of time. As you know, things are heating up. I’ve gotten a lot of hostages out. But they (Hamas) want to do it as slowly as possible because they use them as pawns.”
He reassured them of the government’s efforts, saying, “We’re working very hard to save your son. We’ve got news coming out both good and bad, but we’re working very hard.”
Trump recounted that he had personally met with relatives of the hostages, as well as with individuals who had already been freed.
He described one meeting in which a freed hostage was wearing a shirt with the number 59 to represent the total still held at the time. “I asked if they’re all living, they said, ‘No, 24 are living.’ I said ‘24?’ So 24 of the 59 are living, and they knew because they had just gotten out, and the others are all dead.”
Reflecting on conversations with families whose loved ones had already been confirmed dead, Trump remarked, “and as much as you want your beautiful boy out, they want their beautiful boys out so badly. Almost as much as if he were alive. It was amazing to see the level of love for the children.”
He concluded with a grim update on the current reality. “Think of that, out of 59, you had 24 that were living, and now I understand that it’s not even that number.”
{Matzav.com}