Hamas Not Using American Hostages As ‘Leverage’ – White House

By Staff, Agencies

Hamas is not using Americans in its captivity for “leverage” in swap negotiations with ‘Israel’, a top White House spokesman has said, noting there is no sign the Palestinian resistance group intends to “play some sort of game” with its US captives.

Asked about the status of Hamas’ American captives at a press briefing on Tuesday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the number of US nationals currently held in Gaza is “pretty small,” adding that talks have so far focused on women and children.

“There’s no indication at all that Hamas is trying to use leverage or something to keep Americans from getting out,” Kirby said. “So, there’s no indication that Hamas is trying to play some sort of game here in terms of the Americans.”

The spokesman went on to state that Hamas may not have “ready access to everybody in a moment’s notice,” adding that it is unlikely all US nationals are being held in the same location in Gaza.

‘Israel’ launched weeks of heavy airstrikes on the Palestinian enclave and escalated a ground incursion in response to Hamas’ October 7 surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Flood in the ‘Israeli’-occupied Palestinian territories. Gaza’s Health Ministry has placed the number of Palestinians martyred in the ‘Israeli’ aggression at over 15,000.

However, the fighting has seen several brief pauses over the last week thanks to swap negotiations. Hamas agreed to exchange ‘Israeli’ settlers and foreign citizens for Palestinians detainees held behind ‘Israeli’ bars.