Biden admits ‘we don’t know’ when Hamas will free US hostages

President Biden told reporters Friday that he was unsure when Hamas will release American hostages as part of a deal with Israel — after the terrorist group did not turn over any US citizens in the first tranche of abductees set to be let go during a four-day pause in fighting in the Gaza Strip.

“We don’t know when that will occur,” the 81-year-old president said in response to a reporter’s question.

“We’re gonna be expecting it to occur and we don’t know what the list of all the hostages are and when they’ll be released, but we know the numbers that are going to be released,” Biden said.

He added, “It is my hope and expectation it will be soon.”

Hamas released 24 hostages Friday and has agreed to free another 26 in the next three days — out of about 240 hostages taken from southern Israel on Oct. 7.

The initial group included 13 Israelis, 10 Thais and a Filipino.

Biden addressed the hostage crisis from Nantucket Island in Massachusetts, where he and his extended family are vacationing at billionaire David Rubenstein’s home.

The president also said Friday that the US government is unsure exactly how many American hostages remain alive after the Oct. 7 attacks, which killed about 1,200 people, including at least 33 US citizens.

Nine US citizens and one permanent resident remain missing.

“We don’t know all of their conditions,” Biden said when asked if the hostages are known to be alive.

The president also said that he expected to learn later Friday which hostages would be released by Hamas on Saturday in the second of four planned group releases.

“We’re waiting now. It will be just a matter of — I thought maybe even as soon as by the time I got here — but in the next hour or so we’ll know what the second wave of releases are. And I’m hopeful that is successful as we anticipate,” Biden said.

Biden referred to three Americans who might be part of the initial hostage deal, which will prioritize the handover of children and women.

“We also remember all those who are still being held and renew our commitment to work for their release as well — two American women and one 4-year-old child, Abigail, who remains among those missing,” he said. “We also will not stop until we get these hostages brought home and an answer to their whereabouts.”

The pause in fighting as part of the hostage deal comes as Biden faces pressure from left-wing Democrats to convince Israel to slow its assault on Gaza in a bid to oust the Hamas-run government there.

Protesters in Nantucket shouted “free Palestine!” and “cease-fire!” at Biden moments after his remarks.

Biden told reporters that the “chances are real” that the four-day pause in fighting could extend for longer and that the truce “brings a critical opportunity to deliver much needed food, medicine, water and fuel to the civilians in Gaza.”

“Hamas doesn’t give a damn about them,” he added.

Israel’s government says the truce can be extended if Hamas releases 10 additional hostages per day after the initial four-day period.

In addition to the truce, Israel agreed to release 150 jailed Palestinain women and children as part of the deal brokered by the governments of Egypt and Qatar.

Although no Americans were in the initial release, Biden noted that two US citizens were released by Hamas on Oct. 20.

“Today has been a product a lot of hard work and weeks of personal engagement. From the moment Hamas kidnapped these people, I along with my team have worked around the clock to secure their release. We saw the first results of this with the release of two American hostages in late October, followed by the release of two Israeli hostages,” he said.

Biden risks political consequences the longer the hostage crisis lasts, with some commentators noting potential parallels to the Iran hostage crisis of 1979-1981, in which 52 Americans were held for 444 days, helping doom then-President Jimmy Carter’s re-election bid.