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'Don't know', Joe Biden 'clueless' when Hamas will release American hostages
President Joe Biden seeks answers amidst the uncertainty of American hostage release.
On Friday, US President Joe Biden said he did not know when Hamas would free American hostages as part of a deal with Israel. The terrorist group did not release any US citizens on the first day of a four-day truce in the Gaza Strip.
“We don’t know when that will occur,” Biden said.
“We’re gonna be expecting it to occur and we don’t know what the list of all the hostages are and when they’ll be released, but we know the numbers that are going to be released.”
He added, “It is my hope and expectation it will be soon.”
Hamas agreed to release 50 hostages in four days, out of about 240 taken from southern Israel on Oct. 7. The first group of 24 included 13 Israelis and 11 foreigners, but no Americans.
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Biden spoke from Nantucket Island, where he is vacationing with his family. He also said the US did not know how many American hostages were alive or their conditions.
Nine US citizens and one permanent resident remain missing.
“We also remember all those who are still being held and renew our commitment to work for their release as well — two American women and one 4-year-old child, Abigail, who remains among those missing,” the President said.
“We also will not stop until we get these hostages brought home and an answer to their whereabouts.”
The truce comes as Biden faces pressure from left-wing Democrats to convince Israel to stop its attack on Gaza. Demonstrators in Nantucket shouted "Free Palestine!" and "Stop the fighting!" directed at Biden following his comments.
The 81-year-old said the truce “brings a critical opportunity to deliver much needed food, medicine, water and fuel to the civilians in Gaza.”
“Hamas doesn’t give a damn about them,” he added.
Israel said the truce could be extended if Hamas releases 10 more hostages per day after the initial period. Israel has also consented to release 150 imprisoned Palestinian women and children as a component of the agreement.
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Biden noted that two US citizens were released by Hamas on Oct. 20.
“Today has been a product a lot of hard work and weeks of personal engagement. From the moment Hamas kidnapped these people, I along with my team have worked around the clock to secure their release. We saw the first results of this with the release of two American hostages in late October, followed by the release of two Israeli hostages,” he said.
