Trump Says Lack of Americans in Hamas’s Hostage Release Shows ‘No Respect’ for US Under Biden

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas, on Aug. 6, 2022. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump said Saturday that a lack of U.S. citizens among the hostages freed by the Hamas terrorist group shows “no respect” for America under President Joe Biden.

Israeli forces have confirmed that 17 hostages—13 Israelis and 4 Thai abductees—were released by Hamas on Saturday as part of a second batch of liberated captives, with no Americans among them. Hamas on Friday released 24 hostages, including 13 Israelis, 10 people from Thailand, and one from the Philippines.

Hamas released two U.S. citizens on Oct. 20, but no Americans have been freed since. According to U.S. intelligence, there are around 10 Americans among the hostages still held by the Hamas terror group, which took captives when it raided Israeli settlements on Oct. 7 and brutally killed over 1,000 people.

“Has anybody noticed that Hamas has returned people from other Countries but, so far, has not returned one American Hostage? There is only one reason for that, NO RESPECT FOR OUR COUNTRY OR OUR LEADERSHIP. This is a very sad and dark period of America!” President Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Saturday before the second group of hostages were released.

Biden on Vacation

Meanwhile, President Biden said Friday while vacationing in Nantucket, Massachusetts, that he expects American hostages will be released.

“We don’t know when that will occur, but we’re going to expect it to occur,” President Biden said.

“We don’t know what the list of all the hostages are and when they will be released, but we know the numbers that are going to be released, So it’s my hope and expectation it will be soon,” he added.

President Joe Biden carries a drink as he visits local shops with relatives in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on Nov. 25, 2023. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

The president is facing growing pressure over the U.S. citizens still being held captive by Hamas.

“Hamas is refusing to release the American citizens they have taken hostage,” Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) said in a post on X.

“What is the President of the United States doing about this? He’s continuing to enjoy his holiday vacation in a $40 million dollar mansion,” she added.

Hostage Release

Earlier on Saturday, Israeli forces confirmed that 17 hostages—including 8 children—were released by Hamas as part of a second group of freed abductees, after an earlier delay by the terror group sparked concerns that the hostages-for-prisoners swap deal might fall apart.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that representatives from the Red Cross had just handed over the hostages, who were now on Israeli soil waiting to be reunited with loved ones after 50 days in captivity.

The IDF said in a separate statement that the freed hostages were being escorted by special forces and the Shin Bet after undergoing an initial medical assessment.

“The commanders of the IDF and its soldiers salute and embrace the returning hostages upon their return home,” the IDF said in the statement. “We will continue to work together with the defense establishment’s bodies for the return of all the hostages,” the statement continues, while calling on the public to “show patience and sensitivity and respect the privacy of released hostages and their families.”

One of the released hostages was 9-year-old Irish-Israeli citizen Emily Hand, prompting Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin to issue a statement saying he’s “delighted” that she is now free.

“After weeks of trauma, this is a precious and deeply moving moment for the Hand family,” Mr. Martin said, while acknowledging the role played by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt in securing the release of the hostages.

Hamas Delay

Hamas on Friday released the first batch of hostages as part of a four-day truce agreed to between Hamas and Israel in order to allow for the hostage-prisoner exchange and aid to flow into Gaza.

The second batch of Israeli hostages was supposed to be released on Saturday but Hamas initially said that it had delayed the release of the hostages due to a dispute over the entry of aid trucks into Gaza and other issues.

The Hamas terror group’s al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement Saturday that the second round of hostage releases would be delayed if Israel did not adhere to the agreed terms of the hostages-for-prisoners release.

Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan told the Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen TV channel that the delay was due to violations of the truce by Israel “linked to aid [entering Gaza], in addition to shootings and the rising death toll ... Some of [these violations] happened yesterday, and repeated today.”

Also, a senior Hamas official confirmed the delay to British news outlet BBC, claiming that Israel had allowed only three trucks out of 100 to reach northern Gaza.

Israel denied breaking agreed on terms in the hostages-for-prisoners swap deal and denounced the delay as a stalling tactic meant to add “stress” to the families of the captives.

Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reacted to the delay in an interview with Sky News.

“As much as I can feel the pain of the families who wanted to see their loved ones already on Israeli soil, I'd remind them that yesterday there was also a delay,” he said. “Maybe today there’s less excuses for a Hamas delay because they’ve had two days of a cease-fire and so they can’t say it’s more difficult, it should have been easier today.”

“But when dealing with a group like Hamas we need nerves of steel,” he continued. “If they can stress people on our side a bit longer they'll try to do so, but they have their commitment,” Mr. Regev said, adding that Hamas had promised to release a total of 50 Israeli hostages during the four-day pause.

Mr. Regev confirmed that aid trucks had reached northern Gaza, as arranged.

Also, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that 200 trucks with humanitarian aid entered Gaza on Friday via Egypt’s Rafah crossing “as part of the framework for the release of the hostages, as agreed with the U.S. and mediated by Qatar and Egypt.”

Under the cease-fire deal, Hamas was set to release one Israeli hostage for every three Palestinians freed.

Overall, the terror group agreed to release at least 50 Israeli hostages in exchange for Israel freeing 150 Palestinian prisoners, all women and minors. On Saturday, 39 Palestinian prisoners were freed.

Israel has said it’s prepared to extend the truce by one extra day for every additional 10 hostages freed.