Washington, DC [US], November 27 (ANI): The White House said it’s uncertain if more American hostages will be released from Gaza on Monday. This is the fourth and possibly final day of a truce between Israel and Hamas, CNN reported.
John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, told CNN that the administration is working on the situation “literally by the hour” and that they “don’t know” if two American women are set to be released later in the day.
Kirby said, “We’ll have a better sense I think later on this morning who’s going to be in this next batch coming out today. We obviously hope that those two American women are on that list and will be reunited with their families today. That’s certainly our hope.” He also highlighted the lack of certainty on the whereabouts of any American hostages held by other groups besides Hamas.
The administration doesn’t “have perfect visibility as to where they are and who’s exactly holding them,” he said.
“But we have to keep open the possibility that some other groups other than Hamas might be holding some of those additional Americans,” Kirby added.
Addressing Democratic Sen Chris Murphy’s consideration of placing conditions on aid to Israel, Kirby called it a “worthwhile thought” but suggested that such conditions could have limited the outcomes achieved with the Israelis. He added, “If we actually executed on something like that, we wouldn’t have had the results that we’ve been able to see so far.”
The ongoing deal between Israel and Hamas has paved the way for the release of at least 50 women and children held in Gaza, in exchange for the release of at least 150 Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons.
As the truce enters its fourth day, 40 Israeli hostages have been released by Hamas, with 13 on Friday, 13 on Saturday, and 14 on Sunday, CNN reported.
Released individuals include 21 children aged 18 or younger, 11 adult women, seven women aged 65 or older, and Roni Krivoy, an Israeli-Russian man released as a special case outside the deal parameters.
Besides 18 foreign nationals, including 17 Thai nationals and 1 Filipino citizen, were freed from Gaza in separate negotiations, not covered by the Israel-Hamas deal.
117 women and children released from Israeli prisons, with 39 on Friday, 39 on Saturday, and 39 on Sunday.
Released individuals include 28 adult women, two teenage girls, and 87 male teens aged 18 and younger.
Of the Palestinian prisoners released, 41 had been tried and sentenced, and 76 were in administrative detention.
The original Israel-Hamas deal stipulates that the truce will continue for four days as long as Hamas releases at least 10 Israeli hostages each day. The situation remains fluid, with the White House closely monitoring developments, CNN reported. (ANI)
