‘Time is running out’: Family members of Israeli-American hostages meet with Biden’s top advisers at the White House

Ruby Chen – the father of 19-year-old reservist Itay, who has been missing since October 7 – told CNN that the conversation was “informative,” and that officials offered them the “broad strokes” of the ongoing efforts to secure the release of the missing Americans. Chen declined to share those details.

As engaged as members of the Biden administration and Congress have been with the families of the American hostages, Chen said, the frustration and anxiety is only mounting by the day.

“Bottom line, it’s been 104 days and that’s a disappointment and a frustration,” Chen said. “Where’s justice? And do we want more dead US citizens? What is the administration doing about that?”

Administration officials participating in Thursday’s meeting included national security adviser Jake Sullivan, White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk and deputy homeland security adviser Jen Daskal, according to a White House official. In the meeting, Sullivan expressed his and Biden’s commitment to bringing the Americans home, and the families in return expressed deep concern about the fact that their loved ones have now been missing for more than 100 days, the official said.

The White House “committed to unwavering effort to get family members home,” the official added.

Chen said it was clear to him that Sullivan feels a connection to the families with whom he has now met and spoken multiple times.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, four American hostages have successfully been released. Over the course of a seven-day truce that began in late November, Hamas agreed to release at least 10 Israeli hostages each day. But since the resumption of the war, hostage negotiations have stalled and no additional hostages have been released.

Talks between Israel and Hamas, with the US, Qatar and Egypt playing mediating roles, are continuing, but there has been no significant breakthrough recently, according to two US officials.

Chen told CNN that his son’s 20th Jewish birthday is on Saturday. He said he planned to mark it in a small ceremony at a synagogue in New York City, where he hopes to pray with fellow Jewish congregants.

“Each week, we know someone is going to get a bad message. We just don’t know who it is,” Chen said. “Time is running out.”

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