American hostage may soon be freed by Hamas amid cease-fire, White House says

American hostage may soon be freed by Hamas amid cease-fire, White House says

“We're going to watch this hour by hour and hopefully have a moment of joy.”

ByTal Axelrod

November 26, 2023, 9:07 AM

One American hostage could be released from Gaza on Sunday as part of a prisoner exchange and four-day pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas in the wake of Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attack, the White House's national security adviser said.

“This first set of hostages, 50 hostages over four days, is women and children — and three Americans [are] in that category, two women and one child,” Jake Sullivan told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl. “We have reason to believe one of those Americans will be released today.”

Still, Sullivan cautioned, “Until we actually see her safe and sound … we cannot have 100% certainty that it will happen. So we're going to watch this hour by hour and hopefully have a moment of joy where one of the Americans is safely out and ultimately reunited with her family. That's what we are waiting for as we speak.”

Sullivan said the temporary cease-fire could be extended in exchange for Hamas freeing more of the 200-plus captives who are thought to be held in Gaza.

“If the pause stops, the responsibility for that rests on the shoulders of Hamas, not on the shoulders of Israel,” Sullivan said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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