In response to a question by a reporter about whether the U.S. would support a potential cease-fire for a hostages deal, Biden replied: “We should have those hostages released, and then we can talk.”
Among the more than 200 hostages taken during Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel are a contingent of Americans that the U.S. has been attempting to free. Two of those Americans were released last week by Hamas in a deal brokered by Qatar.
On Monday, right around the time Biden made his remarks, two elderly women were recovered from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, amid intense international negotiations.
National security spokesperson John Kirby said Monday that a handful of Americans are still being detained as hostages, while more than 10 Americans remain unaccounted for.
The White House has been sidestepping questions on whether it was asking Israel to delay its expected ground invasion after reports suggested it was doing so in the hopes that more hostages would be released.
Israeli forces have been striking Gaza by air since Hamas launched attacks that killed more than 1,400 people in Israel, including hundreds of civilians in their homes, at a bus stop and at a music festival earlier this month.
The Israeli bombardment of Gaza has so far killed more than 5,000 Palestinians and injured more than 14,000 others. Israel has also cut off food, water, electricity and medicine to the region, intensifying the humanitarian crisis in the area.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
