The U.S. President, Joe Biden, pledged to do “everything in his power” to secure the release of American citizens held hostage by Hamas in an interview broadcast on Friday.
Biden pledges to “do everything in his power” to free Americans detained by Hamas - image source: The opinion
The White House stated that Biden also participated in a remote dialogue with the families of 14 American citizens whose whereabouts have remained unknown for approximately a week following Hamas’ attack on Israel.
According to the latest reports, 27 U.S. nationals were killed in the attack, and others were taken hostage by Hamas, as per the French news agency.
Biden stated, according to excerpts from the interview with the American channel, “We will do everything we can to bring them back to the country if we can find them.
The 80-year-old Democratic President, a staunch supporter of Israel, added that the families “should know that the President of the United States is deeply concerned about what has happened to them.
Biden further characterized Hamas’ actions as “inhuman behavior” and “utter brutality.”
The American President announced on Tuesday that U.S. citizens were among those “detained by Hamas,” although Washington has not yet provided a specific number.
Hamas launched “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm” on October 7th, in which its fighters infiltrated Israeli areas from the sea using boats, breached parts of the heavily fortified border fence on land, and used parachutes from the air, all while firing thousands of rockets toward Israel.
They entered military sites and residential areas, killing some individuals and taking others captive.
Since the start of the attack, more than 1,300 people in Israel have been killed, including 258 soldiers, according to the latest military count, and the number of wounded has exceeded 3,200.
The number of confirmed hostages stands at approximately 120.
Furthermore, 1,799 Palestinians, including 583 children, were killed due to Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since Hamas’ attack on Israel last Saturday.
