Walz meets families of U.S. hostages held in Gaza

• "Governor Walz will hear their stories and perspectives and share Vice President Harris' commitment to doing everything possible to secure the release of their family members and all the hostages," the campaign official said.
• According to the campaign official, Walz is expected to tell the families that while in his current role he is not involved in negotiations, "he will do whatever he can to shine a light on their cause."

Driving the news: The families of the seven American hostages still being held in Gaza met with top administration officials on Wednesday at the White House and were briefed on the status of the negotiations, according to two sources with knowledge of the meeting.

• In the meeting with national security adviser Jake Sullivan and President Biden's top middle east adviser Brett McGurk, they discussed efforts by Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and others to press Hamas and Israel to reach a deal, a statement from the families' representatives said.
• The families "expressed frustration with the lack of tangible progress and stressed that everyone needs to play a larger role in reaching an agreement that ensures the hostages' safe return," the statement continued.

The big picture: Vice President Harris met with the families of the American hostages several times over the last year and called publicly for their release as part of a Gaza ceasefire deal.

• Several days after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, former President Donald Trump spoke briefly on the phone with one family of an American held hostage in Gaza.
• But since then, he hasn't engaged with the families and rarely speaks publicly on the issue. In recent weeks though, Trump said twice publicly that he thinks most of the hostages are dead.
• Israeli intelligence services think roughly half of the 101 remaining hostages are still alive.