WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, Senator Andy Kim joined a bipartisan Senate delegation visiting Israel, where he called for the immediate release of New Jersey native Edan Alexander and all remaining hostages kidnapped during the Hamas terror attacks on October 7th, 2023. As part of the delegation visit, Senator Kim met with families of remaining American hostages as well as Israeli leaders, where he emphasized the importance of continued diplomatic engagement to secure hostage release and build towards an enduring peace for Israeli and Palestinian civilians. 

Senator Kim also joined his colleagues at a bipartisan press conference. Video from that press conference can be found by clicking here, and remarks can be found below.

Thank you, Senator Graham, and to my colleagues, for letting me be a part of such an important trip where we were able to travel to the Munich Security Conference, come here and raise up the profile of these issues. For those that don’t know me, I’m Senator Andy Kim, and I have to just say it was immensely powerful to be able to stand here alongside Israel, commemorating 500 days since the attacks on October 7th.  

To grieve, to remember, and I think it was important to raise up to remember the over 40 Americans that were brutally killed on that day and then the hostages that we were seeking to have released. As the Senator from New Jersey, my responsibility is certainly first and foremost as well with my own constituents; the Alexander family, Edan Alexander. That is a name that I raised in every single meeting that I had today. 

And the fact that we also had a chance to sit down with his mother and hear from the families of the hostages, what they really wanted to express is that hostages are not leverage. They should not be used in that type of means for such critical purposes right now as seeking peace and security and the fact that they are is despicable. 

So we call for the immediate release of all remaining hostages, Edan and every single one of those left remaining. And what we really wanted to be able to press forward, and again, these were the words of the families of the hostages, they said; this is a moment right now. There is a moment right now in this diplomatic window to be able to push forward for the release of all.

And as we had these meetings as well, with so many different leaders, it’s also clear that there is a window right now to try to push forward on a regional solution, one that hopefully can build towards an enduring security. And we’re not being naive. We certainly see things as they are, the challenges that are there and protecting Israel’s right to defend itself, to be able to ensure that Hamas doesn’t pose a threat, that they are not in political or military control in Gaza or elsewhere.

We have to make sure that we’re pushing for that longer, enduring security to seek the kind of stability that we want with Israel, with the Palestinian people, and for all in the region. Thank you again for letting me be a part of this.

Senator Kim is a member of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP); the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and the Special Committee on Aging. Before being elected to the U.S. Senate, Kim represented New Jersey’s Third Congressional District in the U.S. House and was a career public servant working in national security and diplomacy at the White House, State Department, and Pentagon.

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