Israel and the U.S. “have to get the hostages back” who are “going through hell in the dungeons of Gaza,” one of the country’s leaders told President Biden while visiting the White House Tuesday.
“I know that you’re working very hard to make sure that this war will end and that there will be, first and foremost, security for the people of Israel, as well as for the people of Lebanon,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog told Biden, adding that 101 hostages have been held in the Gaza Strip for more than 400 days.
“I know, Mr. President … you’re day in, day out, actively seeking their safe return home as they are going through hell in the dungeons of Gaza. Clearly, you’re thinking and working about the day after as well, which perhaps should be a trajectory of hope to the people of the region and the ability to have our neighbors, as well as us, live in security and peace,” Herzog continued. “But first and foremost, we have to get the hostages back.”
“I agree,” Biden responded.
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President Biden shakes hands with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, left, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP/Ben Curtis)
“It all starts in Tehran,” Herzog added. “It all starts in the empire of evil and, where in Tehran, with its proxies they are doing whatever they can to derail stability and security and peace, calling for their annihilation of the state of Israel and seeking nuclear weapons. And Mr. President, this has to be a major objective all throughout your term and the next term of the next president because we have to make sure that they cannot fulfill their evil intentions.
“They’re also a major engine of antisemitism, Mr. President, and I know how much you put a focus on fighting and combating antisemitism.”
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Israeli President Isaac Herzog says Biden and Trump must work to thwart Iranian influence in the Middle East. (AP/Ben Curtis)
Biden also told Herzog during the meeting his “commitment to Israel is ironclad.”
Palestinian terrorists of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, take part in a military parade in the central Gaza Strip in July 2023. An estimated 101 hostages remain in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. ( Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images)
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“You’ve been an incredible friend of Israel and the Jewish people for decades, and we will never forget, ever in history, how you stood up with us in our darkest hour, which became our finest hour, how you came to Israel few days after the barbaric attack of Oct. 7,” Herzog told Biden.
“How you helped us and supported us with words and deeds. And I want to express our heartfelt thanks to you, Mr. President, which is a great legacy that you stood up with the Jewish people and the state of Israel, as you always did.”