Family members of the six remaining Israeli-American hostages believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza met with several of US President Joe Biden’s top national security advisers at the White House on Thursday.
Robbie Chen, the father of 19-year-old reservist Itai Chen who has been missing since October 7, told CNN that the conversation was “informative” and that officials offered the families the “broad strokes” of ongoing efforts to secure the whereabouts of the captives. launch. He declined to share those details.
Among the officials who attended the meeting were National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, White House Coordinator for the Middle East Brett McGurk, and Deputy Homeland Security Advisor Gene Daskal, according to a White House official.
The administration is “committed to making unwavering efforts to bring family members home” even as frustration mounts, the official said.
“The bottom line is, it’s been 104 days, and that’s disappointing and frustrating,” Chen said. “Where is the justice? And do we want more American citizens dead? What is the administration doing about it?”
Some context: Since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas, four American hostages have been released before negotiations stalled. Talks between Israel and Hamas continue, with the United States, Qatar and Egypt playing mediation roles, but no significant progress has been made recently, according to US officials.
