4-Year-Old American Girl Among Hostages Turned Over to Red Cross
A 4-year-old girl with dual American and Israeli citizenship is among the hostages turned over to the Red Cross by Hamas, CNN reported on Sunday.
Avigail Idan (her name has sometimes been spelled Abigail Edan in U.S. media) was only 3 years old when her parents were killed during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, according to The New York Times. She turned 4 on Friday.
Hamas, which has been deemed a terrorist organization by the United States, Israel, and many other Western nations, is currently in the middle of a four-day ceasefire with Israel that involves releasing the women and children among the hostages they seized during the Oct. 7 attack.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan appeared on multiple Sunday morning talk shows to say that there was “reason to believe” Idan would be among the hostages released later that day, and the Qatari prime minister also affirmed that her name was on the list of names, during an interview with Margaret Brennan on CBS’ Face the Nation.
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer reported the “very good news” on Sunday that Idan was “now in the hands of the Red Cross” after being among the hostages released by Hamas.
Arlette Saenz described the report as “major good news for the White House and the family of Abigail Edan,” citing “a senior U.S. official” who told CNN that the young girl was among those released.
Idan’s parents were both killed, Saenz said, and she had two siblings who survived. She will be the first American hostage released by Hamas.
Saenz added that President Joe Biden “spent some time on the phone trying to ensure that the deal stayed together” for this latest round of hostage releases. According to the White House, two other American women remain held hostage in Gaza, and their release “is something the White House is working towards as well.”
“And we have confirmed now that this little 4-year-old girl, Abigail Edan, is now in the hands of the International Red Cross,” said Blitzer, “and presumably on her way with these other hostages back to Israel. That is very, very good news. Very encouraging to hear this.”
A few minutes later, CNN reported that the hostages had been turned over by the International Red Cross to the Israeli Defense Forces and were expected to cross the border back into Israel soon.
UPDATE 11:50 am ET: CNN reported that the hostages have crossed the Israeli border.
Watch the video above, via CNN.
