President Joe Biden has planned to host family members of Americans held hostage by Hamas as Israel intensifies its bombardment in Gaza after a pause in fighting during which more than 100 hostages were released, Reuters reports.
Relatives of all eight Americans who are deemed unaccounted for after the group’s October 7 attack on Israel are expected to attend the gathering at the White House, a senior Biden administration official said.
Biden has been personally engaged on the hostage issue and has spoken numerous times with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the emir of Qatar on how to secure their release, the administration official said.
