- The White House said Friday that there were no U.S. citizens in the first group of hostages released by Hamas
- President Joe Biden said his fingers were crossed that Israeli-American child Abigail Mor Edan would be among the first out
- Edan, whose parents were murdered in the October 7 massacre, turns four on Friday
The White House said Friday that there were no U.S. citizens in the first group of hostages released by Hamas.
President Joe Biden, who is spending Thanksgiving with his family on Nantucket, was briefed multiple times Friday morning by his national security team on the latest developments regarding the hostage release from Gaza.
He’ll address the situation from Nantucket around 1:45 p.m. Friday afternoon.
So far, 25 people have been freed since hundreds were kidnapped and taken into the territory by the terror group in its October 7 attack on Israel.
On Thursday, as the president and first lady Jill Biden delivered Thanksgiving pumpkin pies to the Nantucket Fire Department, Biden told reporters, ‘I’m keeping my fingers crossed,’ when asked if three-year-old Abigail Mor Edan would be among the hostages released.
Edan, an Israeli-American whose parents were murdered during the October 7 attack, turns four on Friday.
Edan is the youngest known U.S. citizen being held by Hamas.
‘When I think about that on Friday is Abigail’s fourth birthday and that she should be home with her family and with her sister and brother and she isn’t right now,’ Edan’s great-aunt Liz Hirsh Naftali said on CNN, choking up as she spoke.
The toddler was reportedly being held by her father, photojournalist Roy Edan, when he and her mother, Smadar Edan, were shot and killed by Hamas terrorists.
‘It’s like you get your emotions, you have to keep them in check, because if not you think about nine month old children, little girls, little boys, mothers and you just hope that there’s somebody holding these little children,’ Naftali said.
‘When people ask that, I’m not a politician, I’m not a diplomat, I will believe it when I see them walk out, be driven out and they are free,’ Naftali also said.
Qatar’s foreign ministry said Friday night that 13 Israelis were released as well as ten Thai prisoners and one Filipino citizen in the first group.
The IDF confirmed that the hostages are back in Israel.
Biden also told reporters, ‘I’m not prepared to give an update until it’s done,’ when asked about the ceasefire agreement and hostage release Thursday at the Nantucket Fire Department.