One day after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas officially began, some of the families of Israeli hostages, and at least one former hostage, joined Donald Trump on stage at his inauguration event — moments later, he discussed the January 6 “hostages.”
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, announced that some family members and released hostages were in attendance at the Capitol One Arena event hours after Trump was sworn in.
As crowds in the arena applauded, the hostages’ family members stood in a line wearing yellow scarves and holding photos of their family members kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Noa Argamani, who was 25 when she was taken hostage from the Nova Music Festival by men on a motorbike, was among them. She was rescued in June 2024.
Footage of her being kidnapped, as she yelled “Don’t kill me!”, became one of the defining images of the terror attack, which sparked the Israel-Gaza War. Her terminally ill mother, who had appealed for her release, lived long enough to see her return after 245 days in captivity, but died three weeks later.
Several of families appearing with Trump lost children and loved ones, Witkoff added. “They’re here because they’re part of an effort to retrieve their bodies so they can be buried in a proper way,” he said. Others have children who are still in captivity, Witkoff added.
The family members then walked onto the stage and took turns shaking hands with the newly sworn-in president. Argamani stood directly behind Trump as he spoke.
“So now the work begins. We won! We won! But now the work begins. We have to bring them home,” Trump said.
He then abruptly pivoted to stating his plans to sign an executive order later on Monday regarding the “J6 hostages,” referring to those convicted of or charged with crimes related to the January 6 Capitol riot four years ago.
Shortly after his comments, it emerged that one of the most notorious January 6 prisoners was being released.
Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the neo-fascist Proud Boys gang, was sentenced to 22 years in prison after being convicted of seditious conspiracy and other crimes.
Tarrio’s mother tweeted on Monday that her son would soon be released. His lawyer told The New York Times that he could be out of prison by as early as Monday night.
At the Oval Office later on Monday night, Trump pardoned roughly 1,500 defendants charged with January 6-related crimes and issued six commutations.
Last week, Trump took credit for the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, which began 11:15 a.m. local time.
“This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies,” he wrote on Truth Social. “I am thrilled American and Israeli hostages will be returning home to be reunited with their families and loved ones.”
Three Israeli hostages and 90 Palestinian prisoners were released in the first phase while dozens more are set to be released in the next six weeks.
