The National Security Adviser had stated that unfolding events had led to indications that an American would be released soon. Jake Sullivan, speaking on Face The Nation, said that the terrorist group Hamas, based in Gaza, was set to release the first American hostage.
Hamas has kidnapped 240 hostages when it attacked Israel on October 7. He said that talks are at an advanced stage, and he has reasons to believe that an American will soon be handed over to the Israeli authorities.
Jake Sullivan informed that the US has helped broker an agreement with Egypt and Qatar, and Hamas is set to return around 50 hostages, mostly children and women. The terrorists massacred around 1,200 people from multiple countries in the attack when they breached the border at over a dozen points.
In the first round, Hamas set free around 26 Israelis, 14 Thai nationals, and one from the Philippines. All the released hostages were children and women. Jake Sullivan has confirmed that none of the hostages released in the earlier rounds were American citizens.
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Jake Sullivan added that there is no confirmation regarding the name of the American hostage who will be released. He was not even sure that it was certain to happen. He stressed that America was dealing with a terrorist group.
Jake Sullivan avoided answering questions if the US was set to impose conditions on Israelis that are expected to cool down tension with the Palestinians. He would only stress that President Joe Biden was working with all concerned parties, and it was a moment when things could be resolved through diplomatic channels.
Late news coming in from Israel indicated that the hostage to be freed was a four-year-old girl named Abigail Mor Edan. Her mother was killed right before her eyes and she was going through acute trauma at the moment.