President Joe Biden celebrated the release of a 4-year-old American-Israeli girl from Gaza in the latest batch of hostages released by Hamas as he pushes for an extension to the temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The short-term ceasefire, which is in its third day, has allowed for hostages to be released from Hamas while permitting humanitarian aid to be brought into Gaza. Biden touted the current deal as providing “life-saving results” and said it is his goal to extend the ceasefire and allow for more hostages to be released.
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“This deal is delivering life-saving results. Critically needed aid is going in, and hostages are coming out. And there’s still a structure so that it can be extended to keep building on these results. That’s my goal. That’s our goal. To keep this pause going beyond tomorrow so that we can continue to see more hostages come out and surge more humanitarian relief into those in need in Gaza,” Biden said in remarks on Sunday.
“We’ve seen this is a day-by-day approach, hour-by-hour process, and nothing is guaranteed, and nothing is being taken for granted,” he added. “But the proof that this is working and worth pursuing further is in every smile and every grateful tear we see on the faces of those families who are finally getting back together again.”
Biden corroborated reports from the Israeli Defense Force that 13 hostages, including 4-year-old Abigail Edan, had been released into Israeli custody on Sunday. He credited the release on “brokered and sustained — though intensive — U.S. diplomacy.”
When asked if he believes he could get the deal extended, Biden emphasized the uncertainty of continuing the fragile ceasefire but said it is in the interest of various countries in the Middle East.
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“The deal calls for every 10 hostages released to extend another day. So I’m hopeful this is not the end. That it’s going to continue, but we don’t know,” Biden said. “But I get a sense that all the players in the region — even the neighbors who haven’t been directly involved now — are looking for a way to end this so the hostages are all released, and Hamas is … no longer in control of any portion of Gaza.”
Biden also said that he would like to see the ceasefire continue “as long as prisoners keep coming out.” The president said he will be speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later on Sunday.
