Current:Home > InvestVice President Kamala Harris meets with families of hostages held by Hamas-InfoLens
Vice President Kamala Harris meets with families of hostages held by Hamas
View Date:2025-01-09 19:53:25
Washington — Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday met with families of the hostages believed to be held by Hamas, updating the families after CIA Director William Burns participated in hostage talks in Cairo over the weekend.
Five Americans remain unaccounted for and are believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas during the attacks, after Israel announced last month that Itay Chen, a 19-year-old Israeli soldier with dual Israeli-U.S. nationality, was confirmed dead. National security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that while Burns was in Cairo, there was a "marathon" session late into the night with the U.S., Israel, Qatar and Egypt, with Qatar and Egypt communicating with Hamas.
Sullivan said that although public statements by Hamas have been "less than encouraging," the parties are waiting to secure an answer from Hamas about a hostage proposal.
The administration has made it clear that it will continue to work for the release of all hostages and an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas six months after the militant group's attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting with Harris, Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, said he came to encourage all sides to make a deal.
"There is a deal on the table that all of the parties agree to," Dekel-Chen said, noting they are still waiting for Hamas to respond.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose 23-year-old son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, is being held by Hamas, called the meeting with Harris "productive" and said the family members "want results."
Goldberg-Polin said Sunday on "Face the Nation" that it's a "failure" of global leaders and governments involved in hostage negotiations that her son and more than 130 others have been held in captivity for six months.
The White House says Harris "underscored that President Biden and she have no higher priority than reuniting the hostages with their loved ones" and "reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to bring home the remains of those who have been tragically confirmed to be deceased." She also updated them on U.S. efforts to secure the release of all hostages and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The vice president also met with the families in late October. The families of the hostages met with Sullivan on Monday.
Israeli officials said that around 240 people were believed to have been taken hostage amid the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7. Six months later, less than half of those captured have been returned. Parties gathered in Cairo over the weekend to restart negotiations to release the remaining hostages being held by Hamas.
- Israel to open 3 aid corridors following Biden's call with Netanyahu
U.S. and Qatari-led hostage diplomacy began in October, when two dual U.S.-Israeli hostages — a Chicago teenager and her mother — were released. Then, during a weeklong pause in fighting in November, more than 100 hostages were released, including two U.S. citizens, one of whom was only four years old. And in late December, the final American woman believed to be among the hostages, Judi Weinstein Haggai, was confirmed by Israel to have died.
Kaia HubbardKaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital based in Washington, D.C.
TwitterveryGood! (62495)
Related
- The Army’s answer to a lack of recruits is a prep course to boost low scores. It’s working
- Spencer Dinwiddie leads top NBA potential buyout candidates
- Sheriff’s deputies corral wayward kangaroo near pool at Florida apartment complex
- Judge: Louisiana legislative districts dilute Black voting strength, violate the Voting Rights Act
- Lane Kiffin puts heat on CFP bracket after Ole Miss pounds Georgia. So, who's left out?
- Nevada high court dismisses casino mogul Steve Wynn’s defamation suit against The Associated Press
- Minneapolis settles lawsuit alleging journalists were harassed, hurt covering Floyd protests
- Woman with brain bleed mistakenly arrested by state trooper for drunken driving, lawsuit says
- Diamond Sports Group can emerge out of bankruptcy after having reorganization plan approved
- Palestinian American saved by UT Austin alum after alleged hate crime stabbing
Ranking
- Brian Kelly asks question we're all wondering after Alabama whips LSU, but how to answer?
- Andra Day prays through nervousness ahead of Super Bowl performance
- Biden hosting Germany’s Scholz as Europe grows anxious about Ukraine funding impasse in Washington
- Can having attractive parents increase your chances of getting rich?
- Bodyless head washes ashore on a South Florida beach
- Hawaii’s high court cites ‘The Wire’ in rebuke of US Supreme Court decision that expanded gun rights
- Arkansas governor nominates new corrections head after fight over prison authority
- California governor to send prosecutors to Oakland to help crack down on rising crime
Recommendation
-
Are Dancing with the Stars’ Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber Living Together? She Says…
-
Supreme Court skeptical of ruling Trump ineligible for 2024 ballot in Colorado case
-
Takeaways from the special counsel’s report on Biden’s handling of classified documents
-
Sewage Across Borders: The Tijuana River Is Spewing Wastewater Into San Diego Amid Historic Storms, Which Could Threaten Public Health
-
Steelers' Mike Tomlin shuts down Jayden Daniels Lamar comparison: 'That's Mr. Jackson'
-
Dismembered goats, chicken found at University of Rochester: Deaths may be 'religious in nature'
-
Sex with a narcissist can be electric. It makes relationships with them more confusing.
-
Floridians shaken by 4.0 magnitude earthquake about 100 miles off the coast in the Atlantic Ocean