Bolton suggests Hamas release of US hostages was simple a delay tactic

Former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton said he thinks the release of two American hostages by Hamas on Friday was a delay tactic.

“Well obviously we should be very happy that at least two people have been let go,” Bolton said in an interview with Newsmax. “But … given the way Hamas put it, and given what we know about Hamas and how it operates, what the character of its leadership is, I have to say for those concerned with the other hostages, I think this is an entirely cynical move by them.”

Bolton, the security advisor to former President Trump, said the release of the two hostages was an effort by Hamas to delay the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from going into Gaza. The delay will allow Hamas to “create more booby traps for them,” he said.

“And it puts the lives of the remaining 200 plus hostages in even further jeopardy, but this is … hard logic to talk about it this way,” Bolton said. “We’d hope that a civilized group would … leave everybody, let everybody go. That isn’t going to happen. They’re trying to play for time here, that’s what this is about.”

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley echoed similar sentiments, saying she thinks the hostage release is Hamas trying to “earn favor” with the U.S. Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, warned Biden to not let it weaken the U.S. response to Hamas.

President Biden announced Friday that two American hostages taken by Hamas into Gaza during the surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 were going to be returned to their families soon.

The joint effort with Qatar and Israel was to secure Judith Raanan and her teenage daughter Natalie Raanan. Biden said officials have been working around the clock to free American citizens who were taken hostage by Hamas.

Biden spoke on the phone after the hostages were freed, relaying that they have the full support of the U.S. government as they recover from being held, hostage.

There are 10 Americans who remain unaccounted for after Hamas’s initial attack.

Approximately 1,400 Israelis have been killed in the first two weeks of the conflict in the Middle East, officials said. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said responding strikes have killed nearly 4,300 Palestinians.