Foreign Affairs

Hostage families urge Nobel Committee to honor Trump for peace efforts

Families of hostages still held in Gaza are calling on the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award President Donald Trump this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, praising his efforts to free their loved ones and end the war.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents most of the relatives of the Israeli hostages, said in an Oct. 7 statement that it sent a formal letter to the committee ahead of the Oct. 10 announcement of this year’s laureate. 

The group cited Trump’s Gaza peace plan, which would free all 48 remaining hostages and require Israel to gradually withdraw its troops from Gaza.

“At this very moment, President Trump’s comprehensive plan to release all remaining hostages and finally end this terrible war is on the table,” the families wrote. “For the first time in months, we are hopeful that our nightmare will finally be over. We are confident that he will not rest until the last hostage is brought home, the war has ended, and peace and prosperity are restored to the people of the Middle East.”

The forum credited Trump with helping secure the U.S.-brokered ceasefire earlier this year that led to the release of dozens of hostages between January and February.

“Where others saw intractable violence, President Trump saw opportunity for peace. Where diplomats spoke of impossibility, he delivered results,” the families said. 

Citing Alfred Nobel’s original mission to honor those who have “done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses,” the families said Trump “embodies this vision” through tangible results. 

Trump responded hours later, thanking the families for their letter. 

“My entire administration has been touched by the fact that, through the unimaginable pain and suffering of spending two years not knowing where your loved ones are, you have continued telling their stories and advocating on their behalf,” Trump wrote in a letter shared by the Forum’s official account.

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