Biden administration unsure if two remaining US women will be freed from Hamas on Monday
The Biden administration is unsure if the two American women held hostage by Hamas in Gaza will be released on Monday.
Israel and Hamas are on the verge of completing the agreed-upon ceasefire and hostage exchange, which, through the first three days, included the release of 58 hostages from Hamas in exchange for the release of 117 Palestinian women and teenagers from Israeli prisons.
National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said on CNN Monday morning the administration doesn't know if the two remaining American women will be among the last group of hostages set to be released later that day.
"We'll have a better sense, I think, later on this morning who's going to be in this next batch coming out today," Kirby said. "We obviously hope that those two American women are on that list and will be reunited with their families today. That's certainly our hope."
"It's a worthwhile thought, but if we had executed on something like that we wouldn't have had results that we've been able to see so far."NSC Spox John Kirby weighs in on calls for the Biden administration to add conditions to aid for Israel: pic.twitter.com/KrHXlmqxtI — CNN This Morning November 27, 2023
Hamas and other terrorist groups took roughly 240 people hostage on Oct. 7, though that figure remains an estimate and is likely now around 180 due to the releases of the past couple of days.
On Sunday, 4-year-old Abigail Edan, an American Israeli, was released from Hamas. Edan, whose parents were murdered in the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks that ignited the war, was the first American to be freed since the ceasefire commenced.
The agreement, which was brokered with the assistance of the U.S., Qatari, and Egyptian governments, only stipulates the release of women and children from Hamas. Officials suspect there are about seven other American men, in addition to the two American women, who are being held hostage among roughly 200 others.
"We think the number [of American hostages] is less than 10, probably in the neighborhood of about eight to nine, but we don't necessarily have firm, solid information," Kirby said during Monday's White House briefing.
Qatar announced on Monday that the Israelis and Hamas agreed to a two-day extension of the ceasefire, while Kirby noted that 20 hostages would be released in the extended time and expressed hope that the ceasefire could be extended further to secure the release of additional hostages.
Hamas is not the only terrorist group in Gaza holding hostages.
"We also are aware that it's not just Hamas holding hostages," national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on on Sunday. "Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another terrorist group that participated in the brutal massacre on Oct. 7, is holding some. And other groups who are not directly affiliated but have loose connections to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are also holding hostages."
Kirby said the "onus is on Hamas" to release the hostages, even those held by other groups.
