National security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday that nine Americans and one green card holder were still unaccounted for following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sullivan said U.S. officials did not know whether those 10 people were still alive, but that “active, intensive negotiations” were underway to secure the release of all hostages.
“We currently have nine Americans who are missing, one green-card holder who is missing. We don’t know the status — whether they are alive or whether they have passed away — but we are looking to get the safe recovery of all of those individuals,” Sullivan told CNN’s Dana Bash.
Don’t they have Americans either way? Or were they released? Either way it wouldn’t really do much as a bargaining chip (no more than having hostages in general, anyway); America has never prioritized its civilians over Israeli interests (see: Shireen Abu Aqleh).
If there ever was a case to demonstrate the utter brutality the IDF are willing to inflict on Palestinians, it would be Abu Aqleh.
For those who don’t know, she was a journalist for Al Jazeera reporting on IDF sieges when her team were fired upon. She was fatally wounded. The IDF blamed it on Palestinian militants and only admitted to “accidentally” killing her when multiple reports contradicted their narrative. It was further found that the site was an ambush because there were no militants in the vicinity. She was wearing a blue vest with PRESS written on it alongside her team.
To further reinforce this murder, Israeli forces continued to disrupt funeral proceedings, beating funeral attendees and trampling hospital patients.
Say what you will about Al Jazeera but they’re still journalists on the ground reporting on this violence which makes them prime targets for fascist governments.
Two Americans were released just before aid trucks started coming in - can’t help but think that was connected.