--- title: Biden's 60 Minutes Interview: American Hostages Update description: "We’re going to do everything in our power to get them home," President Biden said of the missing American nationals. canonical: https://time.com/6323943/israel-hamas-war-missing-americans-hostages-biden/ author: Mallory Moench article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-10-15T15:11:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T07:27:29.992Z article:section: Politics og:title: Biden: U.S. Is 'Working Like Hell' to Find Americans In Gaza og:description: "We’re going to do everything in our power to get them home," President Biden said of the missing American nationals. og:url: https://time.com/6323943/israel-hamas-war-missing-americans-hostages-biden/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd2ed682d9647af8b/698a4142e6e84afde22b0971/GettyImages-1719482887.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: President-Biden-speaking-about-Israel-Hamas og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Biden: U.S. Is 'Working Like Hell' to Find Americans In Gaza twitter:description: "We’re going to do everything in our power to get them home," President Biden said of the missing American nationals. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd2ed682d9647af8b/698a4142e6e84afde22b0971/GettyImages-1719482887.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Biden Says U.S. Is 'Working Like Hell' to Find American Hostages In Gaza > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=92a5bfaa-ba51-4bfe-b575-8931e1c542b2&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: UN: Over One Million Displaced in Gaza [Watch (HLS stream): UN: Over One Million Displaced in Gaza](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/BL2l35Mk.m3u8) (3:36)  _Published 2023-10-16. More than a million people have fled their homes in the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected Israel invasion that seeks to eliminate Hamas’ leadership after its deadly incursion. Aid groups warn an Israeli ground offensive could hasten a humanitarian crisis._ by [Mallory Moench](https://time.com/author/mallory-moench/) ## Mallory Moench Moench was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau. Oct 15, 2023 3:11 PM UTC More than a million people have fled their homes in the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected Israel invasion that seeks to eliminate Hamas’ leadership after its deadly incursion. Aid groups warn an Israeli ground offensive could hasten a humanitarian crisis. by [Mallory Moench](https://time.com/author/mallory-moench/) ## Mallory Moench Moench was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau. Oct 15, 2023 3:11 PM UTC A week after Palestinian [militant group Hamas stormed from Gaza into Israel](https://time.com/6322493/israel-hamas-ground-war-gaza-military/) and launched an unprecedented attack, President Joe Biden will address the diplomatic challenge of potential American hostages and more in a [CBS News _60 Minutes_](https://www.cbsnews.com/video/pres-biden-on-possible-american-hostages-in-gaza-sunday-on-60-minutes/) interview airing Sunday evening. Hamas breached Israel’s border on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,300 people. Militants gunned down families in their homes and young people at a music festival, bringing at least [126 hostages to Gaza](https://www.timesofisrael.com/red-cross-demands-hamas-grant-immediate-access-to-hostages-held-in-gaza/), Israeli authorities have confirmed. [Fourteen Americans](https://www.reuters.com/world/biden-spoke-with-families-14-americans-missing-after-hamas-attacks-white-house-2023-10-13/) remain unaccounted for after the attack, with some believed to be taken as hostages, the White House said, posing [a huge diplomatic challenge for Biden](https://time.com/6323792/israel-hamas-war-gaza-hostage-crisis/). In a clip from the upcoming _60 Minutes_ interview, Biden told reporter Scott Pelley why he chose to speak to the families of the missing Americans directly, via Zoom. He shared that it was important to him because he wanted the families to know that he cares “deeply” about what is happening. “We have to communicate to the world this is critical,” Biden said. “This is not even human behavior. It’s pure barbarism. And we’re going to do everything in our power to get them home if we can find them.” When asked by Pelley what he would say to anyone holding American hostages in Gaza, Biden responded that his administration would do everything in its power to find them. Declining to go into further detail, he added: “We're working like hell on it." > [](https://twitter.com/60Minutes/status/1712960153547321708) The potential hostage situation presents a major challenge for Biden and his Israeli counterpart Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Hamas has historically leveraged hostages in lopsided exchanges. In 1985, [Israel swapped 1,1500 Palestinian prisoners](https://www.haaretz.com/2004-01-29/ty-article/background-the-mother-of-all-prisoner-exchange-deals/0000017f-e5d0-dea7-adff-f5fbc9900000) to free three captive Israeli soldiers. Dozens of hostages have become pawns in the current Israel-Hamas war, which on Sunday [became the deadliest of five conflicts in Gaza for Palestinians.](https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-war-refugees-6cf0ff04e513ecec12cf9152656ac1b6) Israel has cut off power, water, and fuel to the coastal enclave until hostages are released and has bombed the territory, killing more than 2,300 people, the Palestinian[ health ministry said](https://x.com/SkyNews/status/1713120919000863065?s=20). Hamas, meanwhile, has [threatened to execute a hostage](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hamas-threatens-israel-gaza-kill-civilians-hostages-siege-rcna119532) every time Israel bombs a Palestinian home without warning, although one Hamas official walked back that threat, telling the BBC that hostages would be treated in a [“human, dignified way.” ](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67050350/page/9) Biden and Israel [have accused Hamas](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/10/10/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-terrorist-attacks-in-israel-2/) of using civilians as human shields. The Israeli military [ordered more than one million people in north Gaza](https://time.com/6323377/gaza-evacuation-israel-hamas-war/) to evacuate south in an attempt to separate the populations as it prepares for a likely ground invasion to try and root out Hamas. Policy [experts predict an invasion ](https://time.com/6322173/israel-gaza-invasion-concerns/)would result in brutal house-to-house fighting and high civilian casualties. ## Transcript [00:00] 1 million Palestinians have been displaced since the 7th of October. [00:05] Sadly has lost 14 staff members who work with the with the agency [00:14] in the Gaza Strip. [00:15] Since the 7th of October, many of our own staff themselves, [00:20] they have been displaced and have taken Refuge with friends [00:25] and relatives, but many, many more are taking refuge in Unruh [00:30] facilities including in facilities that were not meant to become [00:36] shelters in The Siege on the Gaza Strip. [00:38] Continues Tundra has not been able to bring in any supplies [00:44] since the 7th of October and our own supplies are running [00:49] out. And they're running out how I work needs to continue [00:53] to be in downtown, who continues to stay and deliver for people [00:58] in Gaza including Impacted by, by this war are reporting [01:04] that they are down themselves to one liter of water a day in our [01:11] offices in, in the South where we have, [01:13] relocated our Center of operation. [01:16] They tell us that they cannot even [01:20] reassure their children to tell them that it's going to be okay. [01:25] Because maybe it's not going to be okay. [01:27] We feeling that the levels of desperation and frustration, [01:32] among our staff specifically increases by the hour, [01:37] the longer this goes on the longer, [01:40] the fatigue, the exhaustion, the frustration, what we are calling [01:46] for and Unruh is for the seats, [01:48] to be lifted, The Siege on the Gaza Strip to be lifted. [01:52] So that organizations, like on route. [01:55] But also other sister, you and agencies and other humanitarian [01:59] agencies are, are able to bring in much-needed supplies [02:05] into the Gaza Strip to provide assistance to those in need shelters [02:11] are overcrowded the shelter's do not have enough Sanitation [02:17] Services. We are getting reports that Hundreds of people are [02:22] sharing one to list, four examples of related to the previous [02:26] question. We do have serious concerns about the strength [02:30] of water-borne diseases in in the Gaza Strip. [02:33] Especially among those displaced, many of those displaced [02:38] or actually Unruh Fleet, and they tell us that they are there, [02:43] Shell shock Shell Shock template, to use their home, [02:47] to become homeless and to come and take refuge in. [02:50] What is it, you infertility, whether it's a school or Logistics [02:54] Center over the medical medical facility on about 14 colleagues [02:58] who were killing. [02:59] They were the vast majority of somewhere and teachers. [03:05] It's was a mix of men and women. [03:09] We had one woman who was like, [03:11] gynecologist, we had one engineer, we have the support staff. [03:16] This is what we have been able to confirm the phone. [03:20] whoever it is likely that the numbers of fooling you and Felix [03:27] is is is is higher somewhere can in their own homes and with [03:35] with their families ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6323943/israel-hamas-war-missing-americans-hostages-biden/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6323943/israel-hamas-war-missing-americans-hostages-biden/"},"headline":"Biden Says U.S. Is 'Working Like Hell' to Find American Hostages In Gaza","datePublished":"2023-10-15T15:11:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T07:27:29.992Z","description":"\"We’re going to do everything in our power to get them home,\" President Biden said of the missing American nationals.","url":"https://time.com/6323943/israel-hamas-war-missing-americans-hostages-biden/","keywords":["Gaza and the West Bank"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd2ed682d9647af8b/698a4142e6e84afde22b0971/GettyImages-1719482887.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mallory Moench","jobTitle":"Moench was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau.","url":"https://time.com/author/mallory-moench/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd2ed682d9647af8b/698a4142e6e84afde22b0971/GettyImages-1719482887.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President-Biden-speaking-about-Israel-Hamas","caption":"President-Biden-speaking-about-Israel-Hamas","creditText":"Samuel Corum / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/gaza-west-bank/","name":"Gaza and the West Bank"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6323943/israel-hamas-war-missing-americans-hostages-biden/","name":"Biden Says U.S. Is 'Working Like Hell' to Find American Hostages In Gaza"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"UN: Over One Million Displaced in Gaza","description":"More than a million people have fled their homes in the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected Israel invasion that seeks to eliminate Hamas’ leadership after its deadly incursion. 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