In a searing live forum, Gil Dickmann, cousin of murdered hostage Carmel Gat, accused Israel’s leadership of sacrificing hostages, praised Biden’s efforts, and called on Trump to broker the “ultimate deal” to end the war.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum on Sunday held a moving virtual conversation with Gil Dickmann, cousin of Carmel Gat, who was kidnapped from Be’eri on October 7 and later murdered in captivity.
Carmel, a therapist known for her warmth and love of people, was executed by her captors along with five other hostages—Ori Danino, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Eden Yerushalmi—as IDF forces closed in on their location.
“She was a free spirit, a bird who loved people, music, and sunlight,” Dickmann recalled. “To imagine her locked in a tunnel, cut off from all she loved, is unbearable.”
Dickmann fiercely criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to advance the war despite warnings that hostages were at risk. “There was a deal on the table. Carmel, Eden, Hersh, and Almog were supposed to come out. Instead, when the IDF entered Rafah, their captors executed them. Forty-two hostages who were taken alive have since been killed during this war. You cannot protect hostages and conduct a war at the same time.”
Turning to U.S. politics, Dickmann credited President Joe Biden for brokering the November 2023 hostage deal that freed dozens, though it collapsed hours before Carmel was set to be released. He then pivoted to Donald Trump, calling him the only figure with the power to deliver a final breakthrough.
“If Trump had been president then, maybe Carmel would be alive today. Trump can pressure not only Israel but also Hamas and Qatar. He’s the strongest man on earth. The man who wrote The Art of the Deal can deliver the ultimate deal: to end this war and free all the hostages,” Dickmann said.
His words underscored a widening rift between hostage families and Israel’s leadership, as pressure mounts for an end to the war and the return of all captives.
