Biden invites hostage families to White House after claims their Hanukkah requests were ignored

President Joe Biden is inviting the family members of Americans taken hostage by Hamas to the White House for the first meeting since the Oct. 7 attacks. The invites come after the families said they asked to attend a Hanukkah reception but never received invitations.

A senior administration official told NBC News about the invitations to the families, whom Biden had previously spoken to over Zoom. National security adviser Jake Sullivan and Vice President Kamala Harris had met with some of the families previously.

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The invitation to the White House meeting comes after the families told CNN that they asked to attend the celebration for the fifth night of Hanukkah, which drew in over 800 guests, including Holocaust survivors, lawmakers, Jewish leaders, and White House staffers who were descendants of Holocaust survivors.

At the reception, Biden said he was a “Zionist.”

“I got in trouble, criticized very badly by the southern part of my state — by the southern parts of the country when, 35 years ago, I said that you don’t have to be a Jew to be a Zionist and I’m a Zionist,” Biden said at the White House event on Monday night.

It is unclear how many families will attend the White House meeting on Wednesday.

The invitation follows comments from Biden on Tuesday regarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s military operations. Speaking to Democratic donors in Washington, he said the United States would continue to provide Israel support but warned Netanyahu about waning public support for Israel’s bombing campaigns among voters.

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“I think he has to change, and with this government, this government in Israel is making it very difficult for him to move,” the president said.

The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House for comment.