Washington — President Biden on Wednesday with a 4-year-old boy. Abigail Mor Edan, an American girl who was taken hostage by Hamas after her parents were killed in the group’s attack in October. 7 attack.
The president met with Abigail at the White House, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said. Her parents were killed by militants when she was kidnapped. Her mother was shot in front of her and her father was shot dead using her body to protect her.
Abigail, a dual American and Israeli citizen, served 4 years in captivity. She was held by the Gaza-based militant group for 50 days and was the youngest American hostage to be released.
Sullivan said meeting Abigail was a “reminder from seeing her that there are still Americans and others being held hostage.”
after the girl launch in november, her aunt told CBS News that the family was thrilled to have her back and surrounded her “with love and care.” Abigail’s siblings, who were 6 and 10 at the time of the attack, survived by locking themselves in a closet, according to her family.
Schneider Children’s Medical Center Israel/Handout via REUTERS
The president called what Abigail suffered “unthinkable.”
“Thank God she’s home,” Biden told reporters after the girl was freed. “I would like to be there to hug her.”
Hamas, long considered a terrorist group by the United States and Israel, released a video Wednesday that seemed to show Hersh Goldberg-Polinan Israeli-American hostage, delivering a long statement clearly worded by the group.
Five American hostages are missing and presumed alive, according to a US official. All five are men.
Margaret Brennan contributed to this report.