Biden and global leaders urge Hamas to free hostages

President Joe Biden and 17 other world leaders released a joint statement on Thursday demanding Hamas release all of the roughly 130 hostages the group has held since Oct. 7.

This demand from world leaders comes after Hamas did not agree to the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal that would have halted its war with Israel and resulted in the phased release of the hostages while allowing for a surge of humanitarian aid to get into Gaza.

“We call for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza for over 200 days. They include our own citizens. The fate of the hostages and the civilian population in Gaza, who are protected under international law, is of international concern,” the statement said. “We emphasize that the deal on the table to release the hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza that would facilitate a surge of additional necessary humanitarian assistance to be delivered throughout Gaza and lead to the credible end of hostilities.”

Others who signed the letter include the leaders of Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.

Israel and Hamas appeared close to a deal about two weeks ago with a U.S.-proposed deal, but Hamas declined. It included a pause in fighting for six weeks, the release of vulnerable Israeli hostages first, and would allow for a surge in direly needed humanitarian aid. The deal would also allow for Palestinians who fled to southern Gaza to return to the north without any restrictions, according to a senior administration official, who described Hamas’s response to the United States offer as “not a constructive response at all.”

The U.S. official also directly blamed leader Yahya Sinwar as the reason Hamas has not agreed to this deal or previous offers.

“There have been a number of times where the negotiations have made significant progress outside with Hamas leaders living in fancy hotels,” the official said, referencing some members of Hamas’s leadership who are based in Qatar, “but Sinwar is the ultimate decision-maker, and when the question goes to him, or whether or not you’re going to sign up, and Sinwar’s living deep, deep underground, as Gaza above him is a warzone and as Gazans are suffering and the question goes for him, will we agree to release this vulnerable category of hostages to secure ceasefire for Gazans — and the answer that comes back from Sinwar personally is no.”

Earlier this week, Hamas released a propaganda video featuring Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the hostages. The video, which was sent to the U.S. government on Monday and released publicly on Wednesday, shows Goldberg-Polin had his left hand severed midway up his forearm.

The FBI is analyzing the video to see if any intelligence can be learned from it.

He is one of five American Israelis of the roughly 130 hostages believed to be held by Hamas.

On Tuesday, Biden met with Abigail Edan, the 4-year-old American Israeli who was taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7 and was released during the weeklong ceasefire in late November. Her parents were killed during the Oct. 7 attack.

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Biden spent more than an hour with Edan and her family while she played in the Oval Office, according to the administration official.

“She crawled through the door of the Resolute Desk as that famous picture of John F. Kennedy’s little boy,” the official said. “Abigail went outside and was on the swing set and playing on the playground we have on the South Lawn. And the president spent about an hour with her and her family members, including her great aunt and her uncle, who have been taking care of Abigail.”