From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 15, 2024
Blinken: US will not rest until all remaining hostages brought home
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken vows the US “will not rest” until all remaining hostages taken from southern Israel by Hamas terrorists on October 7 are back home, marking the 100th day since their abduction to Gaza and the first day of the war.
“100 days of captivity in Gaza is far too long,” tweets Blinken. “The United States will not rest until all remaining hostages, including six Americans, are reunited with their loved ones.”
Earlier, US President Joe Biden said on the 100th day since October 7 that America is still working to bring home the “more than 100 innocent people, including as many as six Americans, who are still held being hostage by Hamas in Gaza.”
In a statement marking the somber anniversary, Biden said that “their families have lived in agony,” and at the same time, they have been “at the forefront of my mind as my national security team and I have worked non-stop to try to secure their freedom.”
Biden said his administration has “pursued aggressive diplomacy to bring the hostages home,” lauding the deal in late November under which more than 100 hostages were freed.
“I will never forget the grief and the suffering I have heard in my meetings with the families of the American hostages,” he added. “No one should have to endure even one day of what they have gone through, much less 100. On this terrible day, I again reaffirm my pledge to all the hostages and their families — we are with you. We will never stop working to bring Americans home.”
The Times of Israel Community.