White House: 20 US citizens considered missing in Israel

There are currently twenty American citizens missing in Israel, but this does not mean that they are all being held hostage by Palestinian radicals. This statement was made by Assistant to the US President for National Security Jake Sullivan at a briefing for journalists.

“We believe there are 20 or more Americans missing at this time. I want to emphasize that this does not mean there are 20 or more Americans being held hostage, just that there are numbers.”he said.

Sullivan added that this number could still be adjusted. He also emphasized that the United States cannot name the exact number of its citizens who are currently being held hostage.

A day earlier, on October 9, US President Joe Biden said that at least 11 United States citizens had died as a result of the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

In addition, as the leader of the States said, an as yet unspecified number of Americans are considered missing.