After another wave of the release of hostages by the terrorist organization Hamas, and after the release of the girl Abigail Idan who has American citizenship, President Biden of the United States speaks from the White House.
President of the United States Biden addressed the nation from the White House and said: "Two days ago one of our American brothers, a little girl named Abigail celebrated her fourth birthday, she spent her birthday and fifty more days in the captivity of Hamas."
Biden went on to say: "Today she is free, Jill and I pray that she will be okay, she is free and she is in Israel, those who are now wrapping Abigail in the love and support she needs, she has been through a terrible trauma. Her mother was killed before her eyes when her kibbutz was raided on the seventh of October , Abigail ran to her father, who was also shot dead, when he protected her with his body."
The president explained: "What she went through is unimaginable, Abigail was released as part of the 13 abductees released from Gaza today, as a result of a significant American diplomatic effort, she is safe in Israel and we continue to press for the release of other Americans and citizens, and we will not stop pressing until every abductee is returned to his home and to his loved ones."
The president went on to elaborate: "This deal was the result of significant efforts, weeks of personal engagement by me and the diplomatic staff. We are in close contact with the leaders of Qatar, Egypt and Israel, to secure the deal. These contacts continue, I promise to continue to deal with this personally until the release of all of the abductees. I pushed for this truce for two reasons, first of all to enable the safe release of the Israeli abductees, and beyond that the introduction of increased aid to the citizens of the Strip."
The President went on to say: "We know that innocent children are being harmed in Gaza, as a result of this war that Hamas started, thousands have been killed. I have worked significantly with Egyptian President el-Sisi, Prime Minister Netanyahu, King Abdullah and regional leaders in order to meet the humanitarian needs in the Strip."
Biden continued and announced: "We are interested in the continuation of the truce, we are interested in the release of more hostages and the flow of aid to the Strip, but nothing is permanent, the truce will only continue if more prisoners are released every day. The captives have gone through terrible experiences, and now they can begin to heal."
The president went on to say that: "I believe that the only future that can guarantee security for Israel and the Palestinians is a two-state solution, we will not give up working for this goal. I can only imagine the happiness of the families in Israel, I would like to be there to hug Abigail."
Biden added and answered the reporters' questions and explained that he "hopes to reach a solution in which all the abductees are released, but we also need to understand that the final solution will result in Hamas not controlling any part of Gaza."
