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State Department reiterates demand for release of all hostages, harshly criticizes Hamas tactics
Summary
The secretary said the U.S. priority is the release of all hostages and called the abductions "outrageous" and the perpetrators "savages," while declining to detail which exchanges the U.S. would accept.
Secretary of State told reporters the United States' priority is the immediate release of all hostages taken by Hamas and criticized the group for abducting civilians.
Asked whether the U.S. would accept separate agreements to free American hostages, the secretary said: "our priority always as the unit's government is always that we care about all the hostages. We want all the hostages released." He also described some prisoner‑for‑hostage exchanges as "nuts" and called the actions that led to the abductions "outrageous" and "sick."
The secretary said the U.S. treats the abductions of civilians as unacceptable and said the whole world should insist on the release of hostages. He declined to outline specific terms the U.S. would accept for exchanges during the briefing.
