WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden met with the families of American hostages held by terrorists in Gaza for roughly two hours at the White House earlier today, one of the individuals present at the meeting tells The Times of Israel.
“We knew this going in, but we got further affirmation that the Biden administration — the president, the secretary of state — are completely committed to gaining the release of all the hostages, including the Americans among them,” says Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son Sagui is among the 135 people still held by Hamas.
“They’re doing absolutely everything they can, through every channel and with every tool that they have to accomplish that,” Dekel-Chen says.
Biden welcomed the hostages’ relatives and made some opening remarks before the group proceeded to have a conversation about various subjects related to their loved ones being held in Gaza, Dekel-Chen says, declining to elaborate on the specific contents of the private conversation.
The group of 13 Israelis who met with Biden at the White House also have other meetings planned for today on Capitol Hill to continue raising awareness regarding the plight of the hostages.
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