WASHINGTON — National security adviser Jake Sullivan is expected to meet Tuesday morning with hostage families of Americans believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza, according to a senior administration official.
The White House meeting comes at the most critical moment of the eight-month conflict and fragile negotiations for a possible ceasefire agreement that would include the release of the remaining hostages over several phases, which President Joe Biden outlined in a surprise speech at the Friday.
Sullivan is expected to provide “regular updates” following Biden’s speech on Friday, and all families are expected to be represented in person or over the phone, according to details first shared with NBC News.
It will be Sullivan’s ninth meeting with families since Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped more than 250 others.
Biden urged Israel and Hamas to accept the latest proposal, stressing on Friday that he believes it is “time for the war to end.” But it is unclear whether Hamas will accept the deal, and Israel and the US have exchanged differing accounts of what they believe the deal entails.
During the war, senior White House officials maintained regular contact with the hostages’ families. Four Americans have been released since the start of the war and the Biden administration believes Hamas still holds five American citizens.
Hamas is believed to have killed several US citizens on October 7, with their bodies taken to Gaza. Their families are pleading for their loved ones’ remains to be released.
Negotiations for a hostage deal have faced many obstacles in recent months. Negotiations recently stalled last month ahead of this latest round of talks.
Sullivan met last week with 17 diplomats from countries whose citizens Hamas holds in Gaza, a U.S. official said. The US coordinated a joint statement from all countries calling for the release of the hostages, which was released in April.
The countries involved are: Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand and the United Kingdom.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
