US President Joe Biden promised to continue efforts to secure the release of some 136 captives held in Gaza for 100 days, as Hamas increased its psychological warfare in an attempt to further ignite Israeli public anger against its government.
“No one should have to endure even one day of what they have gone through, much less 100,” Biden said.
“On this terrible day, I again reaffirm my pledge to all the hostages and their families—we are with you.,” he stated.
“For each of those 100 days, the hostages and their families 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 stressed.
Hamas's psychological warfare
The US President published his statement concurrent to the Hamas release of its latest hostage video. This one showed Noa Argamani, 26, Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38.
Sharabi, who lived in Kibbutz Be’eri, was seized along with his brother Eli, 55, and his son Oren, 13, who was later released.
Itai Svirsky of Tel Aviv was taken from the same kibbutz while visiting his parents, Orit and Rafi, who were killed in the attack.
Argamani was taken from the Nova music festival and has been among the high-profile hostages, in part because she was among those photographed as she was taken captive and because her mother Liora who is dying of cancer wants to see her daughter released while she is still alive.
Liora was born in China and Netanyahu has appealed to the country’s President Xi Jinping to assist Israel in securing her release.
Pushing forward a new hostage deal
Israel’s main ally in pushing for a hostage deal has been the United States, with the help of Egypt and Qatar which has acted as intermediaries in hopes of securing an agreement.
Biden met with representatives of the hostage families when he visited Israel in October. About twelve of some 250 hostages seized during the Hamas-led attack against southern Israel on October 7, were American, Out of whom six are still in captivity.
In his statement, Biden summarized US efforts to free the hostages through “aggressive diplomacy.”
“We saw the first results of that effort in late October when two Americans were reunited with their loved ones.
“In November, working in close coordination with Qatar, Egypt, and Israel, we brokered a seven-day pause in fighting that resulted in the release of 105 hostages—including a 4-year-old American child—and allowed us to surge additional vital humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“I was deeply engaged to secure, sustain, and extend that deal. Sadly, Hamas walked away after just one week.“But the United States and our partners have not given up. Secretary Blinken was back in the region this past week seeking a path forward for a deal to free all those still being held.
“I look forward to maintaining close contact with my counterparts in Qatar, Egypt, and Israel to return all hostages home and back to their families,” he said.
Despite his optimistic words and reports of Egyptian and Qatari proposals, including some for interim deals to free the remaining elderly and female captives, no imminent deal appears to be on the horizon.
Hamas has insisted that any agreement must include a permanent ceasefire while Israel has remained determined to destroy the terror group and oust it from the Gaza enclave which it has forcibly ruled since 2007.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have both said that the military campaign in Gaza is the best pressure lever to secure a deal for the remaining captives.
The relatives of the captives and their supporters have urged Israel to make a deal now, even at a high price, fearing that every day in captivity endangers the lives of the hostages. It’s already presumed that some 23 of the 136 captives are no longer alive.
The Hamas video showed Argamani, Shirabi, and Svirsky, speaking in captivity, but there was nothing in the brief clips that dated their statements.
In its video, Hamas said that “tomorrow we will inform you of their fate.”