President Joe Biden is set to meet with the families of American hostages who were captured by Hamas terrorists on October 7th.
This meeting comes after the families' requests to attend the White House Hanukkah reception were reportedly denied. According to NBC News, this will be the first in-person meeting between the families and President Biden, as previous meetings have been held virtually. Vice President Kamala Harris and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan have also met with some of the families in person.
The families had expressed their desire to attend the Hanukkah reception, which took place on Monday night. However, they were not among the 800 guests who received invitations to the event, as reported by CNN. Ruby Chen, the mother of Itay Chen, an Israel Defense Forces member and dual American-Israeli citizen who went missing during the Hamas attacks, expressed her disappointment at not being included.
During his speech at the reception, President Biden did mention the hostages, stating that he had been working closely with Israeli, Egyptian, and Qatari officials to provide aid to Gaza and put pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages.
This apparent snub at the Hanukkah reception is not the first time that hostage families have voiced their concerns about the Biden administration. Last month, Rachel Goldberg, the mother of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, revealed that a U.S. official had asked her how often Hamas allowed her to speak to her son. She described this exchange as a "real slap" and expressed frustration with the lack of understanding within the American government.
While the families have expressed gratitude for the support they have received from the Biden administration, they also voiced their frustration that their loved ones have not yet been brought home.
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