‘It Might Not Be Hamas’: Congressmen Tell Jon Karl That Hostages in Gaza Including Americans May Be Held By Other Groups

Florida Democrat Rep. Jared Moskowitz and New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler joined ABC’s Jon Karl from Tel Aviv Sunday and talked about the over 240 hostages, including Americans, still being held in Gaza.

Moskowitz and Lawler are point of a bipartisan delegation currently in Tel Aviv and appeared on the latest This Week on ABC after having met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Republican and Democrat jointly discussed the ongoing war that started with the horrific terror attack targeting civilians in Israel committed by terror group Hamas, as well as the death toll in Gaza as a result of Israel’s military response to that brutal massacre.

On the subject of the hostages kidnapped amid the murders and rapes on October 7, Democrat Moskowitz pointed out that one problem with the negotiations and “pauses” designed to secure their release is that it’s not necessarily the case the hostages are all held by Hamas, or even necessarily any of the terror groups that operate in Gaza.

Karl asked Moskowitz if there is “Any sense if there’s actual progress” on getting hostages home, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday said is the only condition under which it is conscionable to call for a “ceasefire.”

“Yeah, no, we talked a lot about the hostages. The meeting focused a lot on that obviously because, you know, we were asking a lot of questions,” said Moskowitz. “But, you know, I don’t want to go into details because there are, you know, are potentially ongoing talks and negotiations.”

“Look, obviously, there are not a lot of good options. The hostages are in a number of places, some are in the tunnels, some are not in the tunnels,” he said.

He pointed out that from their meetings in Israel they learned about the complicating factor of who the hostage-takers may have been.

“One of the things that we found out which, if you watch a lot of the videos that are public, and you can see the mob of people that came in, you know, as it turns, some of the people — some of the hostages may be kept by not — by not Hamas. It might not be Hamas that has some of these hostages,” he explained. “It might not be Islamic Jihad that has some of these hostages. It might be some of the citizens of Gaza.”

Islamic Jihad is another terror group operating in Gaza which has not been reported by the press as in negotiations for hostage release.

“So, you know, they’re working on several plans to locate the hostages,” said Moskowitz. “I don’t want to go into details of that, but obviously, that is a top priority. There were nine Americans missing that are potentially hostage. And so, you know, this was a focus of the delegation.

KARL: And now, we check in from Tel Aviv with two House members who just met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Republican Mike Lawler of New York and Democrat Jared Moskowitz of Florida.

So, Congressman Lawler, let me start with you. You just met with the prime minister. What did you learn about where this conflict is going?

LAWLER: Well, it was, obviously, a very solemn meeting and we got to see raw footage of the attacks of October 7th, which was deeply disturbing to all of us and very upsetting obviously. But we engaged in a very thoughtful conversation about the need for Congress to pass aid to Israel and our support and our commitment to our closest ally in the region, a beacon of hope and freedom and democracy, the state of Israel.

We need to eliminate Hamas. They are a terrorist organization. They used their own civilians as human shields.

And, you know, we talked about the facts on the ground and what is actually occurring and really what the United States can do to support Israel at this moment.

KARL: Congressman Moskowitz, did you learn anything about the fate of the hostages? Any sense if there’s actual progress?

MOSKOWITZ: Yeah. No, we talked a lot about the hostages. The meeting focused a lot on that obviously because, you know, we were asking a lot of questions. But, you know, I don’t want to go into details because there are, you know, are potentially ongoing talks and negotiations.

But, you know, look, obviously, there are not a lot of good options. The hostages are in a number of places, some are in the tunnels. Some are not in the tunnels.

One of the things that we found out which, if you watch a lot of the videos that are public, and you can see the mob of people that came in, you know, as it turns, some of the people — some of the hostages may be kept by not — by not Hamas. It might not be Hamas that has some of these hostages. It might not be Islamic Jihad that has some of these hostages. It might be some of the citizens of Gaza.

And so, you know, they’re working on several plans to locate the hostages. I don’t want to go into details of that, but obviously, that is a top priority. There were nine Americans missing that are potentially hostage. And so, you know, this was focus of the delegation.

Watch the clip above via ABC News.