Announcing the release of Edan Alexander – the last living Israeli hostage in Gaza with U.S. citizenship – U.S. President Donald Trump did something he never did before, Haaretz columnist Amir Tibon said on the Haaretz podcast. 

“Trump has spoken before releasing hostages, but this is the first time that he explicitly called to end the 'brutal war' to bring back 'ALL of the hostages,'" Tibon said.

It is a hopeful sign, he explained, because without new determination by the U.S. president to apply “massive pressure” on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “this nightmare will not end.”

In Tibon’s view, “Netanyahu is determined to continue the war, and he's determined to abandon the remaining hostages who are not lucky enough to be American citizens like Edan Alexander.”

The fact that only Alexander was freed, while the non-American hostages remain in captivity, is a difficult pill to swallow for both the hostage families and the wider Israeli public, he added. While Alexander’s rescue is being celebrated, at the same time “it’s shocking that he is being saved because of his American citizenship, while the other hostages – including soldiers, including civilians – are left behind by the Israeli government.” 

Noting reports that Qatar would be gifting President Trump with a luxury airliner during the U.S. leader’s visit to the Gulf, Tibon made a tongue-in-cheek appeal to the Qataris. “Please give a second plane to Sara Netanyahu in return for ending the war and saving all the hostages. What is one airplane for the lives of so many people, after all. If you hear me, Qatari Government – Sara Netanyahu also needs a 747 – and we need the war to be over.”

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