NANTUCKET: US President Joe Biden said Friday’s release of a first batch of captives taken by Hamas was just a “start” and that there were “real” chances to extend a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Speaking to media persons in Nantucket, Massachusetts, Biden said it was time to “renew” work on creating a two-state solution for peace between the Palestinians and Israel. Biden added “I think the chances are real” for extending the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The US President welcomed the way the start of the process had gone, adding, “this morning I have been engaged with my team as we started the first couple days of executing this agreement. It’s only a start.” Biden asked for a broader effort to emerge from the war with a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel, citing the “need to renew our resolution to follow this two-state solution.”
US President Says Gaza Captives Release ‘Only a Start’
A total of 24 captives — 13 Israelis, ten Thais and a Filipino — were turned over Friday to the ICRC in the Gaza Strip by Hamas, while Israel also released 39 women and minors held in its jails, the Qatari foreign ministry announced.
Hamas has freed the first batch of captives under a cease-fire agreement that began Friday, including thirteen Israelis, who have been taken in Gaza, according to officials and media reports. Following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the Israeli Prison Service released the first batch of Palestinian prisoners on Friday. A total of 39 Palestinian prisoners, including 24 women and 15 minors, were set free and transferred to the Beitunia checkpoint near Ramallah.
READ ALSO: Hamas Releases 10 Thai Nationals, one Filipino Under Separate Agreement: Qatar
In Gaza, about 15,000 people including 6,150 children, have been killed in the war between Israel and Hamas, officials in Gaza said.
Around 1,200 people were killed in Israel during the October 7 surprise attack and around 240 taken hostage, Israeli officials claimed.
