US Working to Bring Home Americans Taken Hostage by Hamas: Biden

President Joe Biden speaks at a roundtable with Jewish community leaders in the Indian Treaty Room of the White House in Washington on Oct. 11, 2023. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

The Biden administration is working to bring back Americans who have been taken hostage by the terrorist group Hamas, President Joe Biden said.

“We’re working on every aspect of the hostage crisis in Israel, including deploying experts to advise and assist with recovery efforts,” President Biden told Jewish community leaders on Oct. 11 at a roundtable at the White House, also attended by second gentleman Doug Emhoff.

“Now, the press are going to shout to me—and many of you are—that, you know, ‘What are you doing to bring these, get these folks home?’ If I told you, I wouldn’t be able to get them home.

“Folks, there’s a lot we’re doing, a lot we’re doing. I have not given up hope on bringing these folks home. But the idea that I’m going to stand here before you and tell you what I’m doing is bizarre. So, I hope you understand how bizarre I think it would be to try to answer that question.”

While President Biden wasn’t initially scheduled to attend the roundtable, he chose to speak to show support for Israel and denounce anti-Semitism locally and internationally, especially in light of the recent attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7 and in the ongoing conflict.

“In the days ahead, we’re going to continue to work closely with our partners in Israel and around the world to ensure Israel has what it needs to defend its citizens, its cities, and to respond to these attacks,” President Biden said. “As I said yesterday, my commitment to Israel’s security and the safety of the Jewish people is unshakeable. The United States has Israel’s back. And I have yours, as well—both at home and abroad.”

(L-R) White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Council spokesman John Kirby take questions during the daily news briefing at the White House in Washington on Oct. 11, 2023. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Details of Hostages Unknown

Earlier the same day, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed that 17 Americans are currently unaccounted for and 27 have been killed because of the war.

Of the 17 missing, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that he was “not aware of any specific proof of life on any individual hostage” but that the administration believes the number of hostages held by Hamas is “very small—like less than a handful,” but that it “could change over time.”

Hamas terrorists move toward the border fence with Israel from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023. Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images

“I think we all need to steel ourselves for the very distinct possibility that these numbers will keep increasing and that we may, in fact, find out that more Americans are part of the hostage pool,” he said.

When asked about the specific conditions of the hostages, Mr. Kirby replied, “Sadly, we don’t know.”

“We don’t know where they are. We don’t know if they’re all in one group or broken up into several groups. We don’t know if they’re being moved and with what frequency and to what locations. All of those questions, we’re working hard to answer,” he said. “We just don’t have a lot of granularity on where these people are or what condition they might be in or whether they’re being moved.”

Emphasizing the importance of discretion, Mr. Kirby didn’t say if there had been any dialogue with Hamas. “Just like in any other case when we’re talking about getting Americans home [from] overseas that have been held hostage and wrongfully detained, the less you say out there publicly, the better,” he said.

When questioned about the possibility of U.S. military intervention, Mr. Kirby said that no decisions have been made regarding hostage recovery.

Lawmaker Helps 32 Americans to Evacuate From Israel

The latest remarks from President Biden and his administration come as Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), an Army veteran who served in Iraq, told Fox News on Oct. 11 that he has been in Israel “doing Biden’s job” in help Americans flee the country.

Mr. Mills—who had helped with the withdrawal of Americans and refugees from Afghanistan amid the chaotic U.S. withdrawal in August 2021—said he helped 32 Americans to evacuate from Israel on Oct. 11 and hoped to make another trip on Oct. 12.

“I worked with one of the pastors in this church group, as well as for a couple of isolated individuals that were stuck in these areas,” he said. “They had tried to get on multiple flights, [but] their flights were canceled. ... And so at that stage, I just felt it was necessary for me to step in and try and do something.”

Mr. Mills said that he couldn’t get into the specifics of the operation because of safety reasons.

Lawmakers Push to Evacuate Americans From Israel

Earlier, on Oct. 10, 146 members of Congress from both sides of the aisle urged the Biden administration to use all available resources, including chartering flights, to evacuate Americans seeking to leave Israel amid the ongoing war.

The lawmakers told Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a letter that they had received “harrowing reports” from constituents trapped in Israel since Hamas launched a large-scale attack on the country on Oct. 7.

Numerous airlines—including American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Ryanair—have halted flights to and from Israel because of the actions of Hamas, which has included terrorists firing rockets, some of which have hit Ben-Gurion International Airport, about 10 miles southeast of Tel Aviv, Israel.

The legislators asked Mr. Blinken to “consider charter flights and military options for evacuation simultaneously.”

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Oct. 10 that U.S. officials have been in contact with U.S. citizens in Israel and, in some cases, have helped to facilitate their departure from the country.

Aldgra Fredly contributed to this report.