President Joe Biden confirmed on the 26th that a four-year-old American girl was among the 13 hostages released by Hamas on the third day of a temporary ceasefire and pledged to make efforts to free all hostages.<\/p>\n
In an emergency speech to the nation that day, President Biden said, \u201cAbigail, a 4-year-old girl, is one of the 13 hostages released from Gaza today,\u201d and \u201cShe is currently safely in Israel.\u201d
\nPresident Biden expressed his gratitude to all stakeholders, including the governments of Qatar, Egypt, and Israel, saying, “She is grateful that she can return.”<\/p>\n
President Biden emphasized, “We look forward to the release of other American hostages and will continue to make every effort to secure the release of additional Americans. We will not stop our efforts until all hostages return home safely.” He said, “My team and I have been in close contact with the governments of Qatar, Egypt, and Israel and have been working to negotiate. We spoke with Qatar yesterday to pressure Abigail’s release, and we will soon meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.” \u201cI plan to talk on the phone as well,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy goal is to extend the temporary ceasefire to allow for the release of additional hostages,\u201d he confirmed. \u201cOur goal is to continue this ceasefire beyond tomorrow so that more hostages can be released, and humanitarian aid can reach Gaza.\u201d \u201cWe know this is a day-by-day, hour-by-hour approach, and nothing is guaranteed.\u201d<\/p>\n
President Biden said, “Israel agreed to extend the ceasefire further on the condition that 10 hostages be released per day, and I hope this is not the end. I expect the ceasefire to continue as long as the hostages are released.”<\/p>\n
Regarding the hostages’ situation, he added, “I understand that an elderly American woman is in need of immediate medical attention and has been ordered to receive hospital treatment in Israel.”<\/p>\n
On this day, Hamas released 13 hostages, including Abigail Ethan, an American girl who had just turned 4 years old. Abigail lost both of her parents and was taken hostage during a Hamas airstrike on Israel on October 7, and celebrated her 4th birthday while in captivity on the 24th.<\/p>\n
Previously, Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day ceasefire and the release of 50 Israeli hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners.<\/p>\n
Hamas released 13 Israeli hostages and 11 foreigners on the 24th, the first day of the ceasefire, and 13 Israelis and 4 foreigners on the 25th, the second day.<\/p>\n
Israel also released 78 Palestinians imprisoned in its prisons over the past two days as agreed to a ceasefire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"