US official: Intensive efforts by Washington to get the hostages out of the Gaza Strip

2023-11-04 13:28:08, Kosova & Bota CNA

US official: Intensive efforts by Washington to get the hostages out of the Gaza

US officials are making intensive efforts to secure the release of people held hostage by Hamas militants in Gaza, a senior Biden administration official said Friday. But he added that there is no guarantee of success or any timeline for when such a thing might happen.

The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, said that thanks to a "non-direct engagement", the aim was to find a way to get the hostages out, but the work in this direction, he said, was extremely difficult.

The militant group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, killed 1,400 people and took more than 240 hostages in an October 7 attack in southern Israel.

Many of the hostages are still being held in Gaza, a region facing airstrikes and an Israeli ground attack.

The US official said a "pause in the conflict" would be needed to free the hostages.

" It's something that's being discussed very seriously and actively... There's not yet an agreement to make that happen, but it's something we're working extremely hard on," he said .

" We hope to do everything we can to get the hostages out, but there is absolutely no guarantee, one; if it will happen and two; when it will happen, " the US official added.

" We will do everything we can to ensure that all hostages, of all nationalities, leave the Gaza Strip. An active, multi-pronged process is underway, including indirect engagement to find a way to get the hostages out of the Gaza Strip ," the official said.

He added that the administration was also negotiating with Hamas to allow foreign nationals trapped in Gaza to leave the region safely. He said that the talks were difficult and that there was also a request from Hamas to withdraw some of their fighters from the region.

The official said that the request was considered unacceptable by American and Israeli officials and was rejected./ VOA