Speaking to reporters in Nantucket, Mass., where he is spending the Thanksgiving weekend with his family, Mr. Biden also said now was the time to resume work toward a two-state solution that would ensure peace between Israel and Palestine.
A total of 24 hostages — 13 Jews, 10 Thais and a Filipino — were handed over by Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza on Friday, while Israel freed 39 women and minors held in prisons, Qatar’s foreign ministry said.
A four-day truce was also announced in order to facilitate the handover of hostages and prisoners.
Mr. Biden, who has led the U.S. effort to secure a break in the brutal fighting between Israel and Hamas, which controls Gaza, said he believed “there is a real chance” of extending the truce.
He welcomed the start of the process and said he was working with his team to ensure it ran smoothly.
“I have been working with my team this morning to begin the first days of implementing the agreement. This is just the beginning, but so far it has gone well,” the president said.
He also called for greater efforts to emerge from the crisis with an effective Palestinian state alongside Israel, stressing “the need to renew our commitment to a two-state solution”.
The October 7 attack by Hamas prompted an air and ground attack by Israel, which vowed to destroy the Palestinian militants.
Almost 15 thousand people died during the war in Gaza. people, 6,150 of them children, say representatives of the territory controlled by Hamas.
Israeli officials claim that 1,200 people were killed in the October 7 attacks. people, mostly civilians, and about 240 hostages.
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2024-09-02 10:22:11
