Families of Gaza hostages call for Trump to win Nobel Prize

Families of prisoners held in Gaza urged the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Monday to award US President Donald Trump the Nobel Peace Prize this month in recognition of his efforts to free their loved ones.

The Times of Israel reported this in a report on Tuesday (July 7).

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the majority of Israeli prisoners' families, said in a statement on the day that Gaza ceasefire talks began in Egypt based on Trump's proposal that they had sent a letter to the Nobel Committee requesting that Trump's name be included in Friday's award announcement.

In a statement, the forum said, "President Trump's overall plan is currently on the table - which would free all remaining prisoners and end this terrible war." For the first time in many months, we are hopeful that our nightmare is coming to an end.

They also wrote, “We are convinced that he will not rest until the last prisoner is brought home, the war is over, and peace and prosperity are restored to the Middle East.”

The forum said, “Since taking office, (Trump) has brought light to our darkest hour. We are grateful to him for bringing back many prisoners, both alive and dead, through the US-brokered ceasefire between January and March.”

The statement added, “No one has contributed more to peace around the world than President Trump in the past year. Many have talked beautifully about peace, but he has achieved it in practice. Therefore, we strongly urge that President Trump be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, because he has pledged not to rest until the last prisoner is brought home.”

However, the letter sent by the forum will not be considered an official nomination, because the organization is not on the list of eligible nominees for the Nobel Prize. Members of national governments, university professors and past laureates can submit nominations.

In July, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, for his efforts to end last month’s 12-day Israel-Iran war and for the 2020 “Abraham Accords” — through which Israel normalized relations with four Arab countries. However, that nomination will apply to the 2026 prize, as the deadline for submitting nominations for 2025 expired on January 31.

Anat Alon-Beck, a US-Israeli law expert and professor at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, formally nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize in a letter dated January 28, according to Kabi Barda, an expert on US-Israeli relations.

Trump has been nominated for the Nobel Prize multiple times since 2018 by US politicians and foreign leaders. Some observers say Trump's move to quickly implement a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange plan could help boost his chances of winning this year's prize in part.

Hamas and other resistance groups operating in Gaza currently hold 48 prisoners. Of those, 47 were among 251 people kidnapped in a Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. The Israeli military (IDF) has confirmed the deaths of at least 26 of them. Twenty are believed to be alive, and Israeli officials have expressed deep concern about the condition of two. Hamas in Gaza also still holds the body of an IDF soldier killed in 2014.