Former Sec. of State Mike Pompeo speaks during the Republican National Convention on Thursday, July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Speaking on a wide range of national security issues at the Republican National Convention, Mike Pompeo, secretary of state under Trump, criticized Biden as being silent on Americans held hostage in the Gaza Strip by Hamas: “President Biden won’t even talk about the fact that Americans are still being held there by the Iranian regime,” he said.
But that’s not accurate. Biden has spoken multiple times about the Americans who were among the 240 people taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Eight Americans are reportedly still in captivity, including three who were killed.
For example, three days after the attack that started the Israel-Hamas war, Biden said, “We now know that American citizens are among those being held by Hamas.” Soon after, on October 20, 2023, he said, “As I told the families of Americans being held captive by Hamas, we’re pursuing every avenue to bring their loved ones home.”
Biden released a statement on Jan. 14, 2024, that described the day as “a devastating and tragic milestone — 100 days of captivity for the more than 100 innocent people, including as many as 6 Americans, who are still held being hostage by Hamas in Gaza.” And more recently, on April 27, he wrote in a post on his official Facebook page: “I will not rest until every hostage, like Abigail, ripped from their families and held by Hamas is back in the arms of their loved ones. They have my word. Their families have my word.”
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