2023-11-26T18:10:20+00:00
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/ US President Joe Biden expected on Sunday that the Palestinian Hamas movement would release more American hostages in the Gaza Strip, as part of his comment on the release of an American child and her arrival in Israel.
Abigail Idan, who also holds Israeli citizenship, was released on the third day of the exchange agreement, which is scheduled to last four days. She is the first hostage to be released by Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist in the United States.
Biden said, in a television speech: “Abigail Idan, a four-year-old American girl, has been released. She is a liberator and is now in Israel, and she is being cared for after she went through a difficult period.”
He added shortly after Abigail’s release that “her mother was killed in front of her when her kibbutz was attacked by Hamas on October 7, and her father was also killed.”
Biden’s speech came shortly before he made a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to what the White House announced.
Biden said, “The hostage exchange process is ongoing, successful, and must continue,” stressing that he had been seeking for weeks to stop the fighting and deliver aid.
The release of the American girl came within the framework of the release of 14 Israeli citizens and 3 foreigners, who were kidnapped in the Gaza Strip, on the third day of the exchange agreement reached between Israel and Hamas, with Qatari and Egyptian mediation.