Washington — President Biden on Wednesday met 4-year-old Abigail Mor Edan, an American girl who was taken hostage by Hamas after both her parents were killed in the group's Oct. 7 attack.
The president met with Abigail at the White House, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said. Her parents were killed by militants when she was kidnapped. Her mother was shot in front of her and her father was gunned down using his body to shield her.
A dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, Abigail turned 4 in captivity. She was held by the Gaza-based militant group for 50 days and was the youngest American hostage to be released.
Sullivan said meeting Abigail was a "reminder in getting to see her that there are still Americans and others being held hostage."
After the girl's release in November, her aunt told CBS News the family was overjoyed to have her back, and was surrounding her "with love and care." Abigail's siblings, who were 6 and 10 years old at the time of the attack, survived by locking themselves in a closet, according to her family.
The president has called what Abigail endured "unthinkable."
In a recent development, Hamas, a group long considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and Israel, has just unveiled a video on Wednesday. The video features an Israeli-American hostage named Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who is seen delivering a statement that clearly bears the mark of the group's influence.
According to a U.S. official, there are currently five American hostages whose whereabouts remain unknown, leading to the assumption that they are still alive. All five of these hostages are male.
