Washington, United States: President of the United States, Joe Biden, positively anticipated the release of hostages from Gaza, who have been stuck in the midst of Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, on Thanksgiving.
Biden celebrated the occasion on November 23 with firefighters and distributed pumpkin pies among them, according to reports by Reuters.
The US President has been spending his holidays with his family on the Massachusetts island of Nantucket. Reportedly, it is known that half of the time has been spent talking with foreign ministers about war, hostages, ceasefire and other consequences.
Details related to the release of hostages
President Biden refused to share details related to the release of hostages until Friday. However, he underscored that he would be keeping his “fingers crossed” that all three Americans, including the 3-year-old little girl, would be released as soon as possible.
US-Israel-Qatar agreement on ceasefire
According to the details shared by the Qatar mediators, the four-day pause will be initiated by Israel and Hamas on Friday. Reportedly, later that day, the group of 13 Israeli women and children will be freed under a truce deal.
Biden and his family’s tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving
It is to be known that President Joe Biden and his family have a long tradition of visiting Nantucket to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. He has been staying at a home owned by his friend David Rubenstein – who is a billionaire co-founder of The Carlyle Group.
During his stay, he and his wife – First Lady Jill Biden, distributed the pies and celebrated Thanksgiving.
Earlier, President Joe Biden appealed to the general public to focus on solving problems together and stopping rancor in the society, as per Reuters. “Today is about coming together,” Biden was quoted saying.
Latest Update on ceasefire between Israel and Hamas
As per the latest reports by the news agency Reuters, Gaza witnessed the overflowing of humanitarian aid supplies as the four-day ceasefire initiated on Friday. Under the truce deal, 24 women and 15 teenagers will be released by Israeli authority; however, the spokesman of the Foreign Ministry of Qatar – Majed al-Ansari, announced that at first, a group of 13 women and children will be released by the militant group Hamas.
Reportedly, the first group will be released at 1400 GMT.
The authorities of Israel and Hamas agreed to initiate a ceasefire on Wednesday in Gaza. As per the latest deal, the ceasefire will be for four days, during which Hamas will release 50 hostages in return for 150 Palestinians jailed in Israel.