US President Biden: Second wave of Gaza hostage releases to be finalized
Biden declined to speculate about how long the Israel-Hamas war would last, but said he thought the chances of an extension of the ongoing truce were "real."
The United States will be informed about the details of the second wave of releases of hostages from the Gaza Strip in the next hour, US President Joe Biden said on Friday evening.
In an address following the release of 13 Israeli and 11 foreign hostages from the Gaza Strip, Biden said that the US, along with Qatar, Egypt and Israel, will do everything in its power to ensure the full aspect of the deal will be implemented over the coming days.
Join me as I deliver remarks on the release of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza. https://t.co/i1Hpl2jmG4
— President Biden (@POTUS) November 24, 2023
"Beginning this morning, under a deal reached by extensive US diplomacy, including numerous calls I've made from the Oval Office to leaders across the region, fighting in Gaza will halt for four days," Biden told a news conference.
Biden declined to speculate about how long the Israel-Hamas war would last, but said he thought the chances of an extension of the ongoing truce were "real."
Freeing further hostages
He also expressed hope that American nationals held by Hamas would be freed. "I don't know how long it will take," Biden said. "My expectation and hope is that as we move forward, the rest of the Arab world and the region is also putting pressure on all sides to slow this down, to bring this to an end as quickly as we can."
Hamas released 24 hostages on Friday during the first day of the war's truce -- including 13 Israeli women and children, 10 Thai farm workers and a Filipino -- after guns fell silent across the Gaza Strip for the first time in seven weeks.
The hostages were transferred out of Gaza and handed over to Egyptian authorities at the Rafah border crossing, accompanied by eight staff members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in a four-car convoy, the ICRC said.
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