Bipartisan senators to host families of American, Israeli hostages at Capitol

A bipartisan group of senators is hosting families of American and Israeli hostages at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, to mark more than 100 days since the attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) announced Sunday that they will host families at the Capitol on Wednesday for a press conference to call for continued U.S. support to help bring their family members home.

Monday will mark 100 days since the surprise attack on Israel’s southern border that left about 1,200 Israelis dead and almost 250 taken hostage by Hamas, the U.S.-designated terrorist organization that rules the Gaza Strip. Israel estimates that more than 130 hostages still remain in Gaza, after the U.S. helped broker a temporary cease-fire that brought home some hostages.

Schumer and Cardin will be joined by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and others to be announced soon, a press release said.

The group “will host American and Israeli families of hostages abducted by Hamas terrorists for a bipartisan press conference in the U.S. Capitol to discuss the urgent need for continued U.S. support to help bring home their loved ones after more than 100 days in captivity following the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.”

President Biden sent Congress an aid request that would send $100 million to Israel and funds to Ukraine, but talks over any potential supplemental packages have yet to produce legislation.

The State Department also twice bypassed Congress to approve a provision that allowed for the transfer of weapons to Israel. The move upset some Democratic allies, who have called for the de-escalation of violence in Gaza and who criticized the administration for not going through Congress.