Joe Biden said Tuesday that he believes a deal will be reached to free the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza Stripa matter he discussed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his services later announced.
“I talk to people involved every day. I believe there will be an agreement, but I don’t want to go into details.”the US president said in response to questions from reporters at the White House.
“Hold. We are coming,” he added, when asked if he had any message to address to the hostages of the militants of the Palestinian Islamist movement.
Later yesterday, Mr. Biden and Mr. Netanyahu discussed “at length the ongoing efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas, including many children and Americans,” a terse White House press release said.
Among the Hamas hostages nine US citizens are located and a person who has a green card – that is, a permanent residence permit in the US – according to the US presidency.
“I can’t look you in the eye and tell you how many are still alive,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said during a press conference yesterday.
The Israeli military says 240 people were abducted and taken to the Gaza Strip during an unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israeli soil on October 7. This attack claimed the lives of around 1,200 people in Israelmostly civilians, according to the authorities.
In retaliation, Israel has bombed the Gaza Strip relentlessly since then and since October 27 has been conducting a ground operation to “wipe out” the Palestinian Islamist movement in power in the besieged enclave.. At least 11,320 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, also the vast majority of them civilians, including 4,650 children, according to the Hamas Health Ministry.
Qatar yesterday called on Israel and Hamas to seize the opportunity offered by its mediation to secure the release of the hostages.
The US government has consistently called for a more prolonged “pause” of Israeli operations to facilitate negotiations.
The White House said yesterday that President Biden’s top adviser on the Middle East, Brett McGurk, is moving to the region. The first stop on his tour will be Doha, where he will specifically discuss the hostage situation, a National Security Council press release said.
All these statements and announcements, however, were made before the Israeli raid on the Shifa hospital, the largest in the Gaza Strip.
Source: News Beast
With 6 years of experience, I bring to the table captivating and informative writing in the world news category. My expertise covers a range of industries, including tourism, technology, forex and stocks. From brief social media posts to in-depth articles, I am dedicated to creating compelling content for various platforms.
