Support for U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan is growing in the Middle East, according to a man whose wife and three children were taken hostage.
Two years ago today, the lives of many Israelis were upended at 6:30 a.m. local time when a wave of terrorists invaded from the Gaza Strip, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Now, on the anniversary of the atrocities, all eyes are on Hamas—the terrorist group that launched the surprise attack that triggered the Israel–Hamas war—to see if leaders will comply with a 20-point peace plan presented by U.S. President Donald Trump on Sept. 29.
Hamas said on Oct. 3 that it would release the remaining hostages and the bodies of those who died while held captive. Questions remain about whether or when the exchange will take place, but some Israelis say they are confident in Trump’s plan.
“There’s optimism in the air, and we definitely put our trust in President Trump,” said Avichai Brodutch, whose wife and three children—aged 4, 8, and 10 at the time—were taken hostage along with a young neighbor during the siege and subsequently released after 51 days.
On the day of the attack, he was injured by a rocket-propelled grenade when about 250 terrorists overwhelmed and killed half of the 14 men defending the kibbutz where his family lived, he told The Epoch Times.
Some of the invaders wore Israeli military uniforms and spoke limited Hebrew to trick Israeli families into opening their homes, he said.
During his family’s imprisonment, Brodutch raised awareness about the plight of hostages by standing outside the Israeli Defense Ministry demanding their rescue.
He lauded Trump’s approach to diplomacy and what he described as the U.S. president’s perpetually bullish outlook when tackling challenging situations.
“His biggest virtue is his optimism, and I think he spreads it,” Brodutch said. “People in Israel right now are very optimistic that this deal is going to come through differently. The families of hostages have never been so optimistic.”
The most important aspects of the deal and Trump’s agenda are the elements meant to secure long-term peace in the region, he said.
“Whenever he speaks, he talks about the hostages, which means a lot to us, but if we go one step further, he speaks a lot about peace as well,” Brodutch said.
