WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he is engaged in daily discussions to secure the release of hostages held by the Hamas militant group and believes it will happen.
“Hang in there, we’re coming,” Biden said at the White House, when asked by reporters what his message to family members of hostages was.
Shortly after his remarks, the White House said Biden’s top adviser on the Middle East, Brett McGurk, is heading to the region for talks with officials in Israel, the West Bank, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other nations.
Hamas fighters surged across the border from Gaza into Israel on Oct.7, killing about 1,200 people and taking around 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials.
In a White House statement on Sunday, Biden “unequivocally” condemned the holding of hostages by Hamas, including many young children, one of whom is a 3-year old American citizen whose parents were killed by the group on Oct. 7th.
The families of Israelis being held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip kicked off a five-day march on Tuesday from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to demand the government do more to secure their release.
The original article contains 420 words, the summary contains 195 words. Saved 54%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!