Families of eight Israeli-American hostages in Gaza said they felt hopeful after meetings on Monday with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo and Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson, according to a statement from a group representing the families.
Monday was the seventh time Sullivan met with the families following October 7, illuminating the sharp contrast in the families' accessibility to the Biden administration compared to that of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
Hopeful meeting amid hostage crisis
Monday's meeting also marked the first time that Sullivan met with the families after learning of 19-year-old hostage Itay Chen's death last month.
The families expressed concern that their loved ones will be next if negotiations continue to drag out, the release said.
"Mr. Sullivan told the families that CIA Director Bill Burns and all the negotiating parties are in Cairo this week, and the Administration is doing all it can to advance a deal that the US, Israel, Qatar, and Egypt have agreed to," the statement said. "The families left the meeting hopeful that this round of negotiations will result in the release of hostages."
Adeyemo and Nelson discussed how the administration is and can continue limiting Hamas' funding.
The family members who attended the meetings were Adi and Yael Alexander, parents of American hostage Edan Alexander; Ruby and Roy Chen, father and brother of American hostage Itay Chen; Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen; Liz Naftali, great-aunt of released hostage and American citizen Abigail Mor Edan; Ronen and Orna Neutra, parents of American hostage Omer Neutra; Jonathan Polin and Rachel Goldberg, parents of American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin; Hanna Siegel, Lucy Siegel, and Elan Tiv; niece, sister, and daughter of American hostage Keith Siegel and released American hostage Adrienne Siegel; Adrienne Siegel, released hostage and wife of American hostage Keith Siegel.