Biden meets with family members of Hamas hostages amid Israel controversy

President Joe Biden met Wednesday with family members of hostages held by Hamas, though he’s facing controversy over the situation on multiple fronts.

Biden, along with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, met with relatives of several hostages taken by the terrorist group during its Oct. 7 attacks in Israel. Eight Americans are believed to be among those still being held.

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“It was a terrific conversation,” Jonathan Dekel-Chen, a hostage family member, said after the meeting. “We all came away feeling that as families of American-Israeli hostages — which are eight out of a total of 138 hostages — we felt reinforced in believing that we could have no better friend in Washington or the White House than President Biden.”

Thirteen hostage family members joined the meeting in the Oval Office, while three more joined via Zoom. Dekel-Chen refused to go into details of the conversation, though he and other members said it went well.

“We’d love a Christmas miracle,” Liz Naftali said. “We know they are working 24 hours a day.”

While Biden has repeatedly stated his support for Israel in its war with Hamas, he is greeted with calls for a ceasefire nearly everywhere he goes by pro-Palestinian protesters. White House press briefings are also often filled with questions about Israel’s tactics in the conflicts and the high number of civilian casualties in Gaza.

On the other hand, the White House is being accused of ignoring hostages elsewhere who have been held far longer, in some cases for over a decade, while meeting multiple times with the Hamas hostages who were taken just two months ago.

The Bring Our Families Home Campaign says it has tried to set up a meeting between Biden and the hostages it represents to no avail. The group met outside an entrance to the White House on Tuesday and was escorted away by the Secret Service.

“Actions speak louder than words,” spokesman Jonathan Franks said. “[Biden’s] decision to ignore us clearly shows this administration could not care less about the American families who have suffered for years or even decades without their loved ones and don’t have fancy PR firms and lobbies with nine-figure budgets behind them.”

Among that group are hostages such as David Lin, who has been held in China for 17 years, Zach Shahin, held in the United Arab Emirates for 15 years, and Austin Tice, a journalist who was kidnapped while reporting in Syria 11 years ago.

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A few Hamas hostages were released during a humanitarian pause in late November, and talks are ongoing to obtain another one. But it may be a while before that happens.

“We’re not close to inking another deal on a humanitarian pause,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Dec. 8. “Nor do I have any news to break here today about the return of hostages, either ours or those of many other countries that are being held hostage.”