White House says Hamas is refusing to release women hostages – and urges Israel to protect civilians in Gaza after the ceasefire collapsed

The White House said Monday it was “deeply concerned” about the female civilian hostages who remain trapped in Gaza as the Israeli military and Hamas continue to exchange fire.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan highlighted the plight of civilian women captured during the Hamas raid on October 7. Israeli military women are also being held captive.

During the White House briefing, he was asked about Hamas' reluctance to release the rest of the civilian women held in Gaza after the failure of a seven-day ceasefire that led to the release of more than 100 hostages, out of a total of about 240 seized during the attack.

“I'm not going to speculate on that, just to say they didn't do it, and we're very concerned about that.” But I'm not going to speculate on their reasoning,” Sullivan told reporters.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the administration is “deeply concerned” about the fate of female hostages still held in Gaza.

His comments following new reports from eyewitnesses about the rape of Israeli men and women during the October 7 raid.

Israel has expanded its ground operations in Gaza and Israeli forces say they hit 200 “terror targets” in the latest barrage, while US officials including Vice President Kamala Harris have issued warnings about the risk to Palestinian civilians.

Administration officials continue to try to obtain information on the status of nine American hostages still held in Gaza.

“Look, the bottom line when it comes to where we are now in the hostage negotiations is that the first phase of the hostage negotiations was about the release of women and children,” said Sullivan, who was involved in the strategy.

“Hamas continues to detain women and civilian women and will not release them. And Israel is not willing to close the book on those women or give them up, so Israel insists that Hamas proceed with the release of those women,” he said.

SEI*182767099 Released Israeli hostages siblings Maya and Itay Regev (R) arrive at their family home in the city of Herzliya near Tel Aviv on December 4, 2023, after spending a few days in hospital following their release from captivity by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The White House said Hamas' refusal to release more people ended the humanitarian pause

Israel continued to shell targets in Gaza after the end of the pause

“And then Israel has said that if Hamas is willing to go through with this, Israel is absolutely willing to discuss additional categories of hostages, civilians, wounded, and ultimately all hostages, the idea of ​​soldiers being held.”

Sullivan was loathe to intervene on levers that could move the process forward.

“The easiest and clearest way to get back on it would be to hold Hamas accountable for not complying. But then we also have to think about how we get all our American hostages. and we are also thinking about that. And you know, hindering forms of influence or precise strategies for how we do that is something that I will refrain from doing. I would just like to say that we are thinking about it, both in consultation with Israel and then simply as a country with our own citizens. are being held, what tools we have at our disposal to address them.”

Sullivan said it was Hamas's “refusal” that “caused the end of the hostage agreement, and with it the end of the lull in hostilities.”

Israeli officials said the pause was aborted after Hamas refused to produce a list of ten more female hostages to be released, according to the Times of Israel.

Sullivan also spoke of protecting “safe areas” as Israeli forces told Gaza residents where to go amid a wave of attacks.

“They have also indicated that there are areas where there will be no-strike zones, and in those zones we expect Israel to continue with no-strikes,” he said in a warning to the US ally.