Courtesy of JNS. Photo credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks alongside President Donald Trump during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on April 10, 2025
(JNS) — Negotiations aimed at securing the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza are advancing, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday.
“So we’re getting close to getting them back,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. “But we’re making progress. We’re dealing with Israel, we’re dealing with Hamas, and it’s a nasty group.”
The president offered detailed and emotional remarks about the hostage crisis, noting that many of the hostages may no longer be alive.
“You know there’s 59 hostages, but only 24 of them are living, and that’s the way it’s been presented to me by the mothers of some of the dead, mothers and fathers of some of the dead hostages,” Trump said. “They want the bodies of their baby, as they say — their young boys — they want them back as much as if they were alive. It’s amazing.”
Reflecting on his recent meeting at the White House with former captives, Trump said, “When I met the hostages two weeks ago here, I couldn’t believe what they had to go through, by the way. But when I met them, they said, yeah, there’s 59, but 24 are living. … They want them back just as much as they would want them back if they were alive. It’s really pretty amazing and pretty sad.
“A lot came back,” he added. “A lot of people are really grateful. Some came back in pretty bad shape. Some came back — they are OK. I think they are going to be scarred mentally for a long time, because if you sit down and talk to them as I have, what they went through is incredible.”
