Steve Witkoff, serving as the Special Envoy to the Middle East for US President-elect Donald Trump, addressed a crowd on Sunday during a rally celebrating Trump’s victory, held just before his upcoming inauguration on Monday.

During his speech, Witkoff spoke about the release of Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher, and Emily Damari, who had been held captive by Hamas and were freed as part of a negotiated hostage exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas.

“I just received on my phone pictures of the first three hostages who were released. We had a great team, but it doesn’t happen without Donald J. Trump,” Witkoff said, emphasizing the pivotal role Trump played.

“The President was responsible for this release, and we all owe him a debt of gratitude, as do all the families,” he added, expressing his appreciation for Trump’s leadership in securing the release.

In December 2024, Trump personally intervened in the issue of the hostages in Gaza, issuing a stern warning that there would be severe consequences if they were not freed by his inauguration on January 20.

Over the weeks that followed, Trump reiterated this warning on multiple occasions. Just this past Thursday, shortly before the deal was finalized in Qatar, Trump reiterated the urgency of completing the agreement.

“We changed the course of it, and we changed it fast, and frankly, it better be done before I take the oath of office,” he said in an interview with Dan Bongino on a podcast. “We shook hands, and we signed certain documents, but it better be done,” he insisted.

On Shabbos, Trump shared his perspective on the ceasefire and hostage agreement in an interview with NBC News. When asked about his confidence in the release of the hostages, Trump responded, “Well, we’re going to see very soon, and it better hold.” He also shared advice he had given to Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, saying, “Just keep doing what you have to do. You have to have — this has to end. We want it to end, but to keep doing what has to be done.”

{Matzav.com}