On the scene to the Middle East because we're less
than a month away from the one year mark of
the October 7th terror attack on Israel.
As we draw closer, families of American hostages continue to
plead for their safe return.
And joining us now is Jonathan Decohan.
He is on the scene force in Washington, DC.
He is the father of American hostage Sagi Decohan.
And and first of all, how are you doing?
Well honestly, hanging on by a thread, you know the
last.
The last 11 1/2 months have been a living hell
for all of the families of hostages, and it's only
getting harder as time goes by.
You know, 5 steps forward, 6 steps backwards.
Seems that every time there is a window of hope,
a glimmer of hope for a ceasefire and hostage release,
something happens.
Yesterday it was those exploding pagers in Lebanon, and again
today.
I want you to listen to what the Secretary of
State had to say about how he views the issue
of a ceasefire today.
Take a listen.
the United States did not know about nor was it
involved in these incidents.
And we're still gathering the information and gathering the facts.
Broadly speaking, we've been very clear and we remain very
clear about the importance of all parties avoiding any steps
that could further escalate the conflict that we're trying to
resolve in Gaza.
Mr.
Decohan, as you can hear, even the Biden administration now
seems to be skeptical of what happens next.
What went through your mind when you heard about those
exploding pagers and and now it seems to be exploding
cell phones in a region that has already been a
powder keg?
Well, you know that that's my home, not in Lebanon,
of course, but but in Israel.
Look, I don't think anyone should shed any tears if
in fact someone was able to disable many Hezbollah terrorists
or supporters of terrorism.
And I think that that's First off, whether or not
any of this delays any further hostage negotiations remains to
be seen.
You know, in truth, the negotiation process has been stalled
now for at least a couple of weeks.
So I think that the problems are even greater really
in terms of of of solving and this horrible situation,
both in terms of the 101 hostages who are still
held by Hamas and its allies, as well as the
enormous suffering of the people of Gaza.
And that that crisis, that combined crisis is much greater
than the events of of yesterday or today in Lebanon.
Your thoughts on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, well, I'll,
I'll share those in a moment, But I think it's
no less important for your viewers to understand that there
are two sides here.
Hamas invaded Israel and on October 7th murdered something in
the area.
1400 innocent people conducted mass rape and mass looting.
Hamas could have ended this on October 8th by releasing
then 240 Israeli hostages.
It could have ended this afternoon by releasing the 101
that it still has left.
And and that's, that's the, the most important kernel of
truth here.
Whatever has happened since October 7th was sparked by that
savage attack and all that it's brought, although the the
sorrow that it's brought to our region.
As far as our Prime Minister is concerned, I've been
very vocal both in Israel and and abroad that I,
I believe that he is paying lip service the idea
of prioritizing the return of hostages.
But his actions and his government actions, certainly since early
December when the first round of hostage negotiated hostage release
ended, he and his government have been doing all that
they can really to to obstruct the the progress towards
a negotiated settlement to end the war and to bring
our hostages home.
11 months in now, we are now approaching that sad
one year anniversary.
I don't know if that's the word we would use.
But are you still at least optimistic that the hostages
will be released at this point, having experienced all of
the ups and downs and as it's been going on,
as you said, for 11 1/2 months, I will never
abandoned hope because I, I want and need and believe
that my 36 year old son should be reunited with
his three little girls, one of whom he's never met.
I want to believe that all of the 101 hostages,
those who are still alive can lead the lives that
they were meant to leave.
And those who have already been murdered by Hamas can,
you know, be buried and, and by their families in
a proper way.
I don't think there's any room for optimism right now.
And because it would seem that Hamas on its side
and and the Israeli government on its side are unwilling
to do what they must to end this madness, to
end the suffering just of the hostage families, but of
the people of Gaza and and avoid what is bubbling
up as a deadly regional war.
The international community simply has to do more, not just
the Biden administration, the international community, those that are allied
with Israel and most importantly, those that are allied somehow
or support Hamas.
For the good of the people of Gaza, putting my
son aside and the other 101 hostages for the good
of the people of Gaza, Hamas must be forced to
yes, along the negotiated settlement and that can only happen
a by Israeli military pressure because of course nothing would
have happened without that.
But the international community, particularly those who in any way
have influence on Hamas or support it, must step forward.
It is simply the right thing to do to end
this madness and pressure Hamas to.
Yes, Mr.
Decohan, I want to give you just a, a few
seconds.
We live in a world that is connected by so
many different avenues, the Internet, etcetera, etcetera, the dark web.
If there is a snowball's chance that a piece of
this video should wind up being replayed for your son,
what would you want him to hear from you, from
his father?
I would say, Saggy, we are here.
We are coming to get you.
I don't know how long it's going to take, but
we will get you home to your 4 girls.
I swear it.
Jonathan Deckelton, father of American hostage Saggy Deckelton, thanks for
being with us today.
Thank you for having me.
You got it.
Good luck and you're in our prayers, White House President.