Trump meets freed hostages, promises to save others

Listen To Story Above

Three former Hamas hostages shared their harrowing experiences at a Republican National Committee gathering of 3,000 attendees on Tuesday evening, following an invitation to the stage from President Donald Trump.

Prior to their testimonies, Trump expressed his strong condemnation of Hamas, describing them as “a disaster” and highlighting their “level of hatred.” He emphasized the horrific ordeal the freed captives had endured, referencing his recent meeting with them in the Oval Office.

The meeting Trump referred to took place on Wednesday, where he welcomed eight Israeli and American-Israeli former hostages. During that encounter, he expressed his deep emotional response to their experiences and promised decisive action against Hamas and Gaza until all remaining hostages are freed.

Today, President Trump took time to meet with eight of the released hostages from Gaza. The President listened intently to their heartbreaking stories. The hostages thanked President Trump for his steadfast efforts to bring all of the hostages home. pic.twitter.com/iECgxVvEU5

/div>

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) March 5, 2025

As Trump invited the survivors – Iair Horn and Keith and Aviva Siegel – to address the audience, Keith Siegel made a powerful statement: “I am here and I am alive. President Trump, you saved my life. You saved the life of 33 hostages because of your efforts.”

Siegel elaborated on Trump’s role in the hostage crisis, noting, “You set the hostage crisis at the highest priority. You got 33 of us home alive. We all owe our lives to you.” His reference was to those released during the initial phase of the ceasefire and hostage agreement that subsequently expired last month.

Following the survivors’ testimonies, Trump addressed the audience again, expressing his shock at Hamas’s actions: “This is a terrible thing that’s going on with Hamas. The hatred is so incredible. It’s unbelievable. And the way they were made to live was not even understandable, I think, by anybody in this audience, and you have great people in this audience that love you, and they’re going to fight for you. And I just want to thank you very much. Thank you.”

The freed hostages thanked President Trump.

“I suffered from starvation and humiliation. They broke my ribs. Thanks to President Trump, I’m a free man, and I can hug my mother again.”

pic.twitter.com/PAvuuGfi17

— Vivid.🇮🇱 (@VividProwess) March 6, 2025

Trump pledged continued efforts to secure the release of remaining captives, stating, “We’ll not rest until your loved ones have been returned home, and hopefully we can do it the right way. We want to get those 24 out really fast, and we’re working on it very hard.”

His supportive stance has resonated particularly well with Jewish community leaders, many of whom had become disillusioned with President Biden’s approach, which they felt had emboldened Hamas to use hostages as bargaining chips.