President Trump met with more than a dozen freed Israeli hostages and their family members Thursday at the White House, where he celebrated them as “heroes.”
“You’re not a hostage anymore,” Trump said in remarks from the State Dining Room. “Today, you’re heroes.”
The last living hostages in Gaza were released by the Hamas terror group last month, following the implementation of a historic cease-fire deal spearheaded by Trump.
Many of the survivors at the White House were among the last to be freed, having spent 738 days in captivity.
“It’s an honor to get to know all of you,” the president said at the closed press event, according to clips posted by White House official Margo Martin.
“We love you all, and our country loves you all,” he added.
The former hostages who met with Trump and other administration officials included Matan Angrest, Omri Miran, Bar Kuperstein, Nimrod Cohen, Ziv and Gali Berman, Ariel and David Kunio, Matan Zangauker, Ilana Gritzewsky, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Segev Kalfon, Evyatar David, Eitan and Iair Horn, Yosef-Chaim Ohana, Avinatan Or, Noa Argamani, Eitan Mor and Elkana Bohbot, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The “toughness” of Angrest, who was subjected to savage beatings because of his service in the Israel Defense Forces, was pointed out by the president.
“He went through hell,” Trump said of the freed soldier.
“Matan never broke, and today he’s a living testimony to the toughness, heart, and faith of the Jewish people,” the president added. “You’re a great inspiration to everybody, whether you’re Jewish or not.”
Trump gave all the former hostages a presidential challenge coin as a gift.
“These are super coins,” the president said.
Meanwhile, twins Gali and Ziv Berman planned to give Trump a mezuzah – a parchment inscribed with texts from the Torah – that miraculously survived Hamas’ attack on their home on Oct. 7, 2023.
“This mezuzah was lovingly removed from the door of Gali’s room, in our home at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a community that endured unimaginable horrors on October 7, 2023,” read the Berman twins’ note to Trump, according to the Jerusalem Post. “The mezuzah survived. Gali survived. And now, this sacred item survived.”
“Out of deep respect and heartfelt gratitude, we present you with a small yet powerful symbol of protection and faith, drawn from the ruins of tragedy, as a gesture of honor and appreciation for your efforts in securing the return of the hostages.”
The former hostages cautioned that “the struggle is not over yet” in a social media post.
“There are other families who are still experiencing the pain that our families experienced, it is not over until everyone returns,” one of the hostages said, referring to the remains of three hostages that have yet to be returned to Israel by Hamas.
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