Washington vows to secure release of all remaining hostages in Gaza, including 6 American citizens

The U.S. Biden administration’s top diplomat Antony Blinken promised that the United States “will not rest” until the remaining more than 100 hostages are released., including six American citizens held by the terror organization Hamas and its operatives.

Blinken noted that 100 days had passed since some 3,000 Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel, massacred more than 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped around 240 Israelis and foreign nationals including Americans.

“100 days of captivity in Gaza is far too long,” Blinken tweeted. “The United States will not rest until all remaining hostages, including six Americans, are reunited with their loved ones.”

U.S. President Joe Biden also addressed the hostage crisis, acknowledging the “more than 100 innocent people, including as many as six Americans, who are still held being hostage by Hamas in Gaza.”

The president emphasized that the hostages remain “at the forefront of my mind as my national security team and I have worked non-stop to try to secure their freedom.”

Biden also recalled the tremendous grief he encountered during his meetings with families of American Israeli hostages.

“I will never forget the grief and the suffering I have heard in my meetings with the families of the American hostages,” he stated.  

“No one should have to endure even one day of what they have gone through, much less 100. On this terrible day, I again reaffirm my pledge to all the hostages and their families — we are with you. We will never stop working to bring Americans home,” Biden vowed.

In late November, 105 Israeli and foreign nationals were released from captivity in Gaza in exchange for the release of a larger number of Palestinian security prisoners held in Israeli jails. The United States and the Gulf state Qatar, which supports Hamas, played prominent roles in facilitating the hostage deal. However, some 136 captives still remain in the Gaza Strip, and it is currently unknown how many of them remain alive.

The terror organization Hamas released a new propaganda video on Sunday, showing three Israeli hostages Noa Argamani (26), Yossi Sharabi (53) and Itay Svirsky (38) still alive. In the clip, the three Israelis introduced themselves and called on the Israeli government to facilitate their return home to their respective families. The video footage was undated.

Following the Hamas surprise invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, Argamani was seen in one video where she was forcefully taken by Hamas terrorists into the Gaza Strip on a motorcycle. Her Chinese-born mother Liora Argamani, who has terminal cancer, keeps pleading for the return of her daughter Noa so they can reunite while she is still alive.

“Noa has been held captive by Hamas for 100 days and I don’t understand how it can be, how she is still there,” Liora said. “I hope I will be able to see her before my last day.”