WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday spoke with the family members of some Americans believed to be held hostage in the Gaza Strip.
On a Zoom call, Biden spoke with family members of 14 Americans who are unaccounted for in the Israel-Hamas war, the White House said, including some believed to be held hostage by Hamas.
"They're going through agony, not knowing what the status of their sons and daughters, husbands wives, children," Biden said during remarks at an event in Philadelphia on Friday afternoon.
Biden said the call lasted for more than an hour. "You know, it's gut-wrenching." The Zoom call was on-camera for participants, two people familiar with the conversation told NBC News.
"It's my personal commitment to do everything possible, everything possible to return every missing American to their families," said Biden, who said the U.S. is working "around the clock" to try to secure the release of any Americans held hostage in Gaza.
Other participants on the call included national security adviser Jake Sullivan; Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs; Undersecretary of State for Management John Bass; and Brett McGurk, the National Security Council’s coordinator for the Middle East, according to the White House.
Israel has estimated that 150 people were taken to Gaza to be held hostage during Hamas’ terrorist attack last Saturday. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Thursday that the number of American hostages is believed to be less than a handful.
"I think they have to know that the president of the United States of America cares deeply about them, deeply. We have to communicate to the world this is critical. This is not even human behavior. It’s pure barbarism, and we’re going to do everything in our power to get them home — if we can find them," Biden said prior to the call, in a clip of an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" that's airing Sunday.
Following the call, the president traveled to Philadelphia in the early afternoon to tour a marine terminal and deliver a speech about his administration's economic plan.
Biden and top U.S. officials have stressed that they will do everything they can to get American hostages released.
"We’re doing everything we can to secure the release of the hostages working closely with our Israeli partners," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during his trip to Israel on Thursday, noting that he brought with him the State Department's deputy special representative for hostage affairs, Steve Gillen.
Blinken said Gillen joined his meetings with hostages' families "and will stay on the ground here to support the efforts to free their loved ones."
During a brief visit to Israel on Friday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was asked how Israel can defeat Hamas without killing civilians and hostages.
Austin said he would leave it to Israel to talk about their operations and approach, but reiterated that Israel has the right to defend itself and praised the Israel Defense Force for their leadership and professionalism. “I have every expectation that it will be disciplined,” he said.
While Kirby has declined to speak about any intelligence that might reveal the location of the hostages, he said that it's "a common tactic in the Hamas playbook to break up hostages and move them around in, sometimes, small groups."
Kirby also said that the U.S. has not ruled out any option to get Americans released. "We obviously take seriously our responsibilities to get Americans held overseas back with their families. We have, in the past, entered into negotiations to do exactly that. And we have not foreclosed any option right now in terms of these particular hostages," he said.
