Joe Biden noted that he has consistently pushed for a pause in the fighting for two reasons: to accelerate and expand humanitarian assistance reaching Gaza and to facilitate the release of hostages.
US President Joe Biden stated this Friday that there are real possibilities that it will extend for more days the truce in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“Today is just the beginning, but so far everything has gone well,” the president expressed in public statements, the first he made after the release of 13 Israeli hostages, 10 Thais and 1 Filipino who were kidnapped by the Palestinian terrorist group.
The agreement between Israel and Gaza establishes four days of humanitarian truce.
“I don’t know how long it will take. My expectation and hope is that as we move forward, the rest of the Arab world in the region is also putting pressure on all parties to stop this and put an end to it as quickly as possible,” said the president, quoted by Efe.
Biden, who had warned Israel that occupying Gaza would be a grave mistake and mediated talks to stop the conflict, announced that he has motivated the Israeli prime minister to reduce the number of victims while trying to eliminate the terrorist organization, which is the “legitimate objective.
However, he acknowledged that “he doesn’t know how long it will take.”
The president of the United States also recalled that None of the kidnapped Americans were released. “In the coming days, we hope that dozens of hostages will be returned to their families,” he added.
He also remembered two American women and a 4-year-old girl who remain among the missing.
Medical teams treat Israeli child hostages who were held by Hamas in Gaza, after they landed in an Israeli army helicopter at the Schneider Children’s Medical Center heliport in Petah Tikva, Israel. Photo: EFE/EPA/Abir Sultan
Biden said that he does not know when the release of the Americans, whose health status is unknown, will occur, and that he does not know the list of all the hostages or when they will be released.
“My hope and expectations are that it will be soon,” said the democrat. He highlighted that the operation that began this Friday, the first day of the truce between Israel and Hamas, is the result of intense work and weeks of commitment.
He pointed out that During that time he spoke constantly with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, both mediators in the agreement, as well as with Prime Minister Netanyahu.
“I want to thank the three leaders for their personal collaboration in achieving this. This prolonged pause in fighting provides a critical opportunity to deliver food, medicine, water and fuel much needed by civilians in Gaza,” he said.
The president pointed out that he has constantly pressed to pause the fighting for two reasons. He insisted: accelerate and expand humanitarian assistance reaching Gaza and facilitate the release of the hostages.
On Friday, 39 women and children detained in Israeli prisons were released, as well as the aforementioned: 13 Israeli hostages, 10 Thais and 1 Filipino who were kidnapped by Hamas.