US To Monitor Hostage Releases ‘Very Closely,’ Hopes Americans Among Freed
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says the hostage deal offers a "ray of hope," but "we are not going to take anything that they [Hamas] say at face value." Three Americans are among 53 women and children eligible for release
The Biden Administration is hopeful that Americans will be among the hostages to be released from the Gaza Strip this week, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said in a briefing to the Jewish community, after the news broke of an agreement between Israel and Hamas on a cease-fire and hostage deal.
Speaking to the community via Zoom, Kirby said the release of hostages would offer some much-needed hope in the current conflict.
“It is a good day. We haven’t had many good days here since the 7th of October, of course, and this is a nice ray of hope,” Kirby said. “It doesn’t solve all the problems. It’s not going to get all of the hostages out, but it does get these first 50 or so, all women and children.”
Under the agreement, 53 women and children are expected to be released in stages in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, all women or minors and none convicted of murder, during a four-day cease-fire. The first releases had been slated for today, but have been delayed to Friday.
Among the hostages eligible for release are three Americans, including Avigail Idan of Kfar Aza, who will mark her fourth birthday on Friday. The child hid under her father’s dead body as Hamas terrorists rampaged through the kibbutz, murdering 52 of its 400 residents and kidnapping some 20 others.
Kirby, a retired US Navy Admiral, also said that the United States is planning to ramp up aid to Gaza. He was not able to offer concrete details on the timing of the hostage releases.
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“This is a significant step. It doesn’t again address every problem, it is not meant to, but it is certainly going to be important in terms of getting these first 50 hostages,” Kirby said.
We know that Israel is dealing with Hamas and Hamas doesn’t always … well, it’s a terrorist group, so of course we are not going to take anything that they say at face value. We are going to watch very closely to see that they execute their side of the deal.
The Biden Administration is cautiously optimistic about the exchange.
“We are going to be monitoring the execution of it. We know we are dealing with Hamas. We know that Israel is dealing with Hamas and Hamas doesn’t always … well, it’s a terrorist group, so of course we are not going to take anything that they say at face value. We are going to watch very closely to see that they execute their side of the deal,” Kirby said.
“We are going to take advantage of this four-day pause to make sure that we are trying to get additional humanitarian assistance into Gaza. So what we are aiming for, we hope, is over the course of the next days, several hundred more trucks of food, water, medicine, and, this is important, because this was also part of the deal: Fuel will get into Gaza, which is going to be critical for the hospitals, for the desalination plant, and even cooking gas. We are looking at trying to get cooking gas in there so that they can cook their meals.”
Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and killed some 1,200 people, raping, torturing, mutilating and burning many. A further 240, including young children and elderly people, were abducted and are believed to be in captivity in the extensive underground tunnel network Hamas built under Gaza. Security camera footage has revealed that at least some of the hostages were taken to Shifa hospital in Gaza City.
Hamas’ political leaders, who are estimated to be worth billions of US dollars, live abroad.
According to a poll released by Ramallah-based Arab World for Research and Development on Nov. 14, the vast majority of Palestinians support Hamas’ attacks on Oct. 7, with 59.3% percent saying they “strongly support” them, 15.7% saying they “somewhat support” them, and 10.9% saying they neither support nor oppose them.
The poll also asked Palestinians: “Considering the ongoing events, do you feel a sense of pride as a Palestinian?” Some 94.3% replied, “Yes, to a great extent.”
Hamas is believed to have hoarded nearly a million liters of fuel to power the tunnel ventilation and electrical systems as well as their rockets and rocket launches. On Oct. 7, Hamas fired more than 3,000 rockets at Israel, and since then it has fired thousands more.
Kirby said it is important that the US continue to support Israel with military assistance to stave off the Hamas threat.
“We know they [Israel] still have a viable threat posed by [Hamas], an existential genocidal threat, and we are going to make sure they get what they need to continue to eliminate that threat, and that is why, again, we are going to continue to work with Congress on the supplemental funding,” Kirby said.
