President Joe Biden celebrated the release of the first American hostage freed by Hamas as part of a temporary cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. The freed hostage, Avigail Edan, turned 4 years old while in captivity, and her parents were killed in an attack by Hamas militants. President Biden expressed relief that the little girl is now free and said that he wishes he could be there to comfort her. The White House confirmed that Biden spoke with Eden’s family in the U.S. and Israel.
Nine Americans, including a U.S. green card holder, are still missing. Two of them are women, expected to be part of the agreement, and seven are men. Biden spoke about continuing to work to free more hostages and said that the U.S. is uncertain about the status of the remaining missing Americans.
A total of more than 20 children under the age of 18, including Avigail, have been released so far, and Biden said that he would be speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again to extend the deal, which includes the release of humanitarian aid into Gaza and Palestinian prisoners. 200 aid trucks have been allowed into Gaza each day, carrying essential supplies such as food, water, medicine, fuel, and cooking gas.
The Biden administration hopes to keep the temporary cease-fire in place past Monday and continues to work on the release of more hostages. President Biden emphasized the human impact and relief brought by the release of Avigail and other hostages, and the administration’s commitment to continue working towards freeing the remaining hostages while also delivering essential humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Photo credit
www.usatoday.com
