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Bipartisan, bicameral resolutions urge White House to prioritize hostage release

The resolutions applaud the Trump administration for securing Edan Alexander’s release and call on the White House ‘to continue taking all possible steps’ to free the remaining hostages

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The U.S. Capitol is seen on June 13, 2024 in Washington, DC.

New resolutions introduced Wednesday in the Senate by Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Todd Young (R-IN) and in the House by Reps. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and French Hill (R-AR) condemn Hamas’ hostage-taking and other malign activities and urge the administration to focus on freeing the 58 remaining hostages being held in Gaza.

The introduction of the resolutions coincides with President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East and comes days after Hamas released Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander following direct talks with the United States, in which Israel was not involved.

The resolution “applauds the Administration for securing the release of Edan Alexander and calls on the White House to continue taking all possible steps to secure the release of all the hostages held captive by Hamas.”

It also condemns Hamas’ attack on Israel and the terror group’s hostage-taking, and demands that the group allow the hostages to receive medical care and release them immediately.

The Senate version of the resolution is co-sponsored by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Susan Collins (R-ME), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Chris Coons (D-DE).

The legislation highlights a series of atrocities endured by the hostages in captivity including sexual assault, starvation, beatings and torture, suffocation, executions and propaganda videos, and that some are in “dire need of urgent medical assistance.”

It also notes that Hamas is holding bodies of deceased hostages, including Americans, “depriving families of a proper burial and closure.”

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