By Raul Castillo
Nov 29, 2023, 8:35 PM EST
President Joe Biden confirmed that Liat Beinin, the Israeli-American hostage released by Hamas this Wednesday, is “safe in Egypt, just across the border.”
“I have very good news to report,” Biden told reporters. “Liat Beinin is safe in Egypt. She has crossed the border. I spoke with her mother and her father; They are very grateful. “She will soon be home with her three children,” President Biden said.
“Jill and I are deeply pleased that she will soon be reunited with her three children and her father, who have been tormented by concerns for her safety. And we remain determined to secure the release of all those taken hostage by Hamas during its brutal terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, including Liat’s husband, Aviv,” Biden added in the statement.
In this way, Beinin became the second American hostage released by Hamas after the agreement with Israel. The first was Abigail Edan, 4, who was released on Friday.
“The agreement to stop the fighting in Gaza and facilitate the release of the hostages – an agreement that the United States worked hard to secure, sustain and extend – is now in its sixth day. This agreement has yielded significant results. Nearly 100 hostages have been returned to their loved ones,” Biden said in his statement.
Who is it?
Beinin Atzili, 49, is American-born and works as a tour guide at Yad Vashem, Israel.
The American-Israeli woman was taken hostage on October 7 along with her husband, Aviv Atzili, who was not released by Hamas.
Atzili and her husband Aviv were taken hostage when Hamas attacked Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel. According to the Times of Israel, Aviv had left the house as part of the community’s security response team after Hamas entered the kibbutz.
Atzili’s sister Tal, who lives in the United States, told Politico earlier this month: “Nir Oz was attacked by 150 armed terrorists. “They simply invaded Kibbutz Nir Oz, killing and kidnapping people, and executing people, babies, and dogs.”
Tal, the sister of the freed hostage, had said that she came to the United States hoping that the American government would do something, because she does not trust the Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The Israeli government has been inept in many of the negotiations. My sister and her children are all American citizens. So are others who are held hostage, and it’s not that that makes them different from the rest,” he told Politico a few weeks ago. “But I would expect the American government to do everything possible to get its citizens back.”
Following Atzili’s release, eight Americans are believed to remain in captivity, according to US authorities.
Keep reading:
- What conditions do Hamas hostages live in? This is what the freed people have said
- 10-month-old Israeli hostage dies along with his 4-year-old brother and mother after bombings in Gaza, according to Hamas
- Israel opposes a ceasefire in Gaza at the UN amid war with Hamas