Three Americans kidnapped by Hamas terrorists last month could be among 50 hostages released by the Palestinian terror group as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel, according to a report.
Two women and a 3-year-old girl are among 10 Americans believed to be held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since the group’s deadly Oct. 7 attack on the Jewish state, senior US officials told CNN.
President Biden said additional American hostages may be freed as part of the deal announced Tuesday night, without giving an exact number.
“Today’s agreement should bring home additional American hostages, and I will not stop until they are all freed,” he said in a statement.
The three hostages may soon be freed as Hamas agreed to release 50 women and children in exchange for a temporary cease-fire in Gaza and Israel’s release of an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners, also all women and children.
A sign illuminates a square in Tel Aviv calling for the release of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip since the October 7 attack by Hamas militants, on November 21, 2023. AFP via Getty Images
“We are determined to bring everyone home,” a senior administration official told the outlet. “The way the deal is structured, it really incentivizes the release of everybody.”
Relatives of 3-year-old hostage Abigail Mor Idan said they prayed for her release on her birthday on Friday.
“The one thing we’re all holding on to is the hope now that Abigail is home, she’s home on Friday,” the child’s aunt, Liz Hirsh Naftali told CNN Tuesday night. “Friday is his 4th birthday. We need to see Abigail come out and then we will be able to believe her.”
An anti-zionist protester holds a sign against the state of Israel next to an event in support of the state of Israel and against antisemitism. Aaron Schwartz – CNP / MEGA
Abigail and her older siblings, 6 and 10, were orphaned by Hamas terrorists who stormed their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the Oct. 7 attack. Abigail was reportedly in her father’s arms when she and her mother were shot and killed by Hamas.
He crawled out “from under his father’s corpse… covered in his blood” and was later kidnapped by Hamas, Hirsh Naftali told NBC News last week.
His siblings, who witnessed their parents’ murder, escaped unharmed by hiding in a closet for 14 hours, he said.
Protesters hold signs demanding the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip after they were seized by Hamas gunmen on Oct. 7, in Tel Aviv, Israel on Nov. 21, 2023. REUTERS
“For our family, we’ve spent the last seven weeks … worrying, wondering, praying, hoping,” aunt Abigail told CNN Tuesday.
In addition to the prisoner exchange, both sides have agreed to cease fighting for at least four days.
A temporary ceasefire would benefit Gaza the most, where ongoing Israeli airstrikes have reportedly killed more than 11,000 people and made it difficult to get aid in the territory where many Palestinians have no access to food and clean water or electricity and medicine. .
If Hamas agrees to release more than 240 Israeli hostages then the truce could be extended longer, the senior official told CNN.
After the freed American hostages receive the necessary medical treatment, the US State Department will provide consular assistance, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters early Tuesday.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
