Washington — President Biden is poised to meet Wednesday at the White House with family members of Americans who were taken hostage by the militant group Hamas during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack in Israel, a White House official confirmed to CBS News.
Mr. Biden’s meeting will be the first held in-person with the family members and follows an earlier video conference call he held with the families of 14 Americans who were missing in October. Other senior members of the Biden administration, including Vice President Kamala Harris, second gentleman Doug Emhoff and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, have met in-person with the families.
It’s not clear how many families will be participating in the meeting. During a campaign fundraiser in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Mr. Biden pledged the U.S. is “not going to stop until every hostage is returned home.”
The president stressed during a Hanukkah reception at the White House on Monday that his commitment to the safety of Jewish people is “unshakeable,” and said his administration has been working “unrelentlessly” to ensure the return of hostages.
Israel accused Hamas of taking more than 240 people captive during its brutal rampage across southern Israel on Oct. 7, when more than 1,200 Israelis were killed by the group. The U.S. has designated Hamas a terrorist organization.
More than 100 hostages, including two Americans, 4-year-old Abigail Mor Edan and 49-year-old Liat Beinin, were freed during a weeklong November cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip. Roughly 240 Palestinians were also released from Israeli prisons during the pause in fighting. Two other Americans, who are dual U.S.-Israeli citizens, were released in late October after being held by Hamas.
Approximately 137 hostages are believed to still be in captivity in Gaza. Fewer than 10 Americans remain unaccounted for, the White House estimates. At least 31 Americans were killed during the Oct. 7 attacks.
Sara Cook contributed to this report.
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