Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, who traveled to Israel two years ago to help bring trapped Americans home after the Hamas attacks, told Newsmax on Saturday that the world must show patience and compassion to the hostages who are finally being released after all that time.
"After two years in captivity, there's going to be a lot that they're dealing with," he said on "Wake Up America Weekend." "It's going to take a lot of patience, a lot of peace and a lot of support from people around Israel and from people around the world."
Collins added that he is proud to have traveled with Gov. Ron DeSantis on the rescue mission.
"When the Israeli war with Iran [was going on], with the ballistic missiles flying, we got calls from parents all over the state," Collins said. "Their kids were over there trapped. They were horrified, scared. So we did what leaders should do. We loaded up. I flew from Tampa to Cyprus, Cyprus to Jordan, got in a car, drove back across and we started finding our people."
Collins said the Florida-led mission ultimately helped rescue more than 2,300 American citizens, most from Florida, after identifying about 6,600 stranded travelers.
"I've been shot at by a lot of things, from small arms all the way up," he said. "But that was the first time I've been shot at by ballistic missiles. It was a game changer."
Collins also praised President Donald Trump's leadership in brokering the peace agreement between Israel and Hamas.
"Kudos to President Trump. Talk about courage, conviction, candor — that's what leadership looks like on the world stage," he said. "I'm so proud of his leadership for what he's done."
He also criticized left-wing activists who had demanded a ceasefire but were not celebrating the peace deal.
"They only want peace if it's good for their political talking points," Collins said. "Most people have no idea how the Middle East works. This was courage beyond reproach for Gov. DeSantis to send people over, but for the president to broker peace the way he did — how incredible is that leadership? The left is going to do what they do. That's their game."
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