Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff met with families of Americans still unaccounted for following the horrific October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel. The Vice President and Second Gentleman joined a meeting led by Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens at the State Department. They listened to the families’ experiences over the past several weeks, which has been an agonizing ordeal, and expressed their support. 

The Vice President relayed to the families that there is no higher priority for her and President Biden than the safety of American citizens. The Vice President emphasized that the Biden-Harris Administration is doing everything possible to bring these Americans home and secure the release of all hostages held by Hamas.  The Vice President also underscored that securing the hostages remains front and center in our diplomatic conversations and that we are working with partners in the Middle East to ensure that any country with influence over Hamas brings that influence to bear to help secure the release of hostages. 

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