US blames Hamas for not letting American citizens out of Gaza

The United States is blaming militant group Hamas for not letting American citizens and other foreign nationals out of Gaza as Israel intensifies its offensive in the enclave.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday that Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., is preventing civilians from leaving Gaza as Israel continues to escalate its bombardment of the territory but would not give details as to why.

“Just as there is ongoing discussions and negotiations over the hostages. We are facing a similar situation with the American citizens and other foreign nationals who are trapped in Gaza,
Sullivan told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”

“It is true the Egyptians are prepared to allow American citizens and foreign nationals to come through the Rafah gate into Egypt. The Israelis have no issue with that. Hamas has been preventing their departure and making a series of demands. I can’t go through those demands in public, but that is the subject of the discussions in the negotiations that are ongoing,” he said.

There are an estimated 600 American citizens in Gaza who like the rest of the 2 million population have no way of getting out as the war intensifies and basic needs run dangerously low. Sullivan reiterated that the U.S. is working to find them a way out as Israel escalates its operations into the territory.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced over the week that it is expanding its ground operations into the Gaza Strip and intensifying air and naval strikes, raising further concerns about civilian deaths and those who are being held hostage by Hamas, which include an array of Israeli, American and foreign nationals.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported that more than 8,000 people in Gaza have died since the start of the Israeli offensive earlier this month, the majority of which are women and children. More than 1,400 Israelis were also killed, mostly in the initial wave of Hamas’s attacks on Oct. 7.