‘I wish I was there to hold her’: Biden celebrates release of four-year-old Israeli-American hostage Abigail Mor Edan, vows ‘not to stop working’ until all detainees come home
President Joe Biden welcomed the release of four-year-old Israeli-American Abigail Mor Edan, who was among the hostages released by Hamas on Sunday.
The president gave an impromptu speech to release Edan from the White Elephant Hotel on Nantucket as he wrapped up his six-day family vacation on the island for Thanksgiving.
Biden noted how Edan, who turned four on Friday, spent her birthday in captivity after Hamas terrorists killed her parents in front of her in an Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel.
“Thank God, she is at home. I just can’t imagine what a joy it is,” said the president, smiling with joy. “I wish I was there to hug her.”
Biden said he was “hopeful” that the other American hostages would be freed in the coming days, “but I don’t have anything concrete to tell you at this point.”
President Joe Biden welcomed the release of four-year-old Israeli-American Abigail Mor Edan, who was among the hostages released by Hamas on Sunday
The president gave an impromptu speech to release Edn from the White Elephant Hotel on Nantucket
Abigail Mor Edan turned four on Friday when she was held hostage by Hamas. She was released on Sunday
He promised to push.
“We will not stop working until every hostage is returned to their loved ones,” Biden said.
The president said he did not know Edan’s condition and had not seen any photos of the girl since her release after more than 50 days in the hands of Hamas terrorists.
“She is free today, and Jill and I, along with so many Americans, are praying for her well,” Biden said. “You know, she is free and now in Israel.”
He noted that she would need a lot of support after going through this “terrible trauma”, acknowledging those who “are now showering Abigail with love and care”.
“You know her mother was killed in front of her when her kibbutz was attacked by Hamas terrorists on October 7,” Biden said. “Abigail then ran to her father, who was then shot, also shot, using his body to cover little Abigail.”
“Then she ran to a neighbor for help, where they were all taken hostage, the whole house of the neighbors was taken hostage by Hamas and held for 50 days,” the president continued. “What she went through was unimaginable.”
Biden called Idon’s release “a lot of hard work and weeks of personal interaction on the part of me and my team” as they were in close contact with the leaders of Israel, Egypt and Qatar.
The president gave special thanks to the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, for freeing the hostages after it faced hiccups on Saturday.
“For weeks, I have advocated for a pause in hostilities with the two goals of increasing aid to Gaza for civilians in need and facilitating the release of hostages,” Biden said.
“We know that innocent children in Gaza are also suffering greatly because this war that Hamas has unleashed has such consequences,” Biden added.
He later told reporters that he would support the pause “as long as prisoners continue to come out.”
“This is my goal. It’s our goal to keep this pause beyond tomorrow so we can continue to see more hostages come out and more humanitarian aid to those in need in Gaza,” Biden said.
“It’s a day-by-day approach, an hourly process, nothing is guaranteed and nothing is taken for granted,” the president continued. “But the proof that it works and is worth continuing is every smile and every grateful tear we see on the faces of those families who are finally reunited.”
“The proof is little Abigail,” Biden added.
Before leaving the podium, the president apologized to his delegation of journalists for the hastily organized event.
“I know we should have called you — I know you said, ‘He’s only been calling me for a few minutes,'” Biden said. “That’s the message I’m getting,” he said, smiling.
“I didn’t want to hold this press conference if they weren’t there physically – even if they were in the Red Cross ambulance – I didn’t want to do it because they weren’t there – they were still in Gaza.”
The president is expected to leave Nantucket on Sunday afternoon and return to Washington after spending Thanksgiving on the island — a Biden family tradition that dates back to 1975 — with first lady Jill Biden, children Hunter and Ashley and grandchildren Naomi, Finnegan , Maisie, little Hunter, Natalie and baby Beau.
