On Sunday, Jake Sullivan, the White House's chief security adviser, announced that the US would continue negotiating to release the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza as nine Americans were still missing.
Sullivan said that President Biden would take no rest until the hostages were released. However, the number of people held by Hamas was still unclear.
US Continues Hostages Negotiations
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 21: National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House September 21, 2023 in Washington, DC. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in the nation's capital to meet with President Biden and Congressional lawmakers after attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Sullivan said the US continues to be a part of the ongoing negotiations to release the hostages. However, Hamas said that they will suspend hostage negotiations due to Israel's continuous attack on the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza.
"There are ongoing negotiations involving the Israelis, the Qataris, and we, the United States, are actively engaged in this as well because we want to make sure that we bring home those Americans who have been taken hostage as well as all of the other hostages," Sullivan said.
Sullivan reported that there were nine Americans who are still missing, but they do not know the number of people who are still alive. He said there was a legal permanent representative, a green card holder, among the nine Americans missing.
Sullivan said that they were trying to find out the number of people who were still alive and ensure their safe return to their families. He added that he would be meeting up with the family members of the victims this week.
According to USA Today, Hamas claimed that the hostages were killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. Sullivan commented that they do not take anything Hamas says at face value but have no information that can corroborate or counteract the details.
On Saturday, Israeli officials reported that around 1,200 were killed by Hamas militants a month ago. Recently, the number of people killed reached 1,400.
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Al-Shifa Hospital Attack in Gaza
According to the World Health Organization, they had lost communication with the people at the hospital. There were also 39 babies, together with the sick Palestinians trapped by fighting at the hospital.
The Guardian reported that there were multiple reports of people being shot as they tried to flee the hospital. Furthermore, three among the 39 babies in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit had died.
The United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency said in a statement that they were in a dire situation where thousands of injured and displaced civilians found themselves trapped within the hospital grounds.
The statement said that the ongoing fighting and the lack of fuel put people's lives at risk, including health workers and patients. Furthermore, the people who were currently staying in the al-Shifa hospital included women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
According to Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, they would not stop their fighting around al-Shifa hospital in Gaza. He said that the Israeli forces had requested to evacuate all the patients from the hospital.
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