President Joe Biden praised the first release of hostages by Hamas and said the US expects more captives to be freed to Israeli custody in coming days under a deal that paused weeks of fighting.
“It’s only a start, but so far it’s gone well,” Biden said Friday, speaking from Nantucket, an island in Massachusetts where he is spending the Thanksgiving holiday. “We expect more hostages to be released tomorrow — and more the day after that.”
The Red Cross on Friday confirmed the safe release of 24 hostages from Gaza. The group was made up of 13 Israelis, some with dual citizenship, as well as 10 Thai nationals and a citizen of the Philippines, according to the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, which mediated he deal. All were women or minors. Biden said their condition and the condition of other hostages still in custody was unknown.
US officials will know “in the next hour or so” which hostages might be released in the second wave, Biden said, adding that the release of Americans who are being held captive was expected to occur but that the timing was unclear.
The truce is a critical moment in the war, marking the first major cessation of hostilities since Oct. 7 when Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the US and European Union, launched a deadly raid on Israel.
Biden called the agreement the result of “extensive US diplomacy.” Biden said he has spoken repeatedly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, including on Wednesday.
The pause offered a “critical opportunity to deliver much needed food, medicine, water and fuel,” Biden said, adding, “We are not wasting one single minute.”
