NANTUCKET, Mass. — President Biden on Friday afternoon arrived at a seaside hotel here, with a welcome bit of good news to discuss: Weeks of complex diplomacy, with hard-edged criticism coming from all sides, had finally won the release of hostages half a world away in Gaza.
“It’s only a start,” Biden said in front of an American flag, in a conference room at the White Elephant Nantucket. “But so far, it’s gone well.”
He said “the chances are real” that the truce could be extended by a few more days. He added that he expected American hostages to soon be released. And he proclaimed that Hamas “doesn’t give a damn” about Palestinians caught in the conflict, adding, “I don’t trust Hamas to do anything right. I only trust Hamas to respond to pressure.”
But if he needed any reminder of the complications ahead — and whether the current conditions can turn from a pause to something longer-lasting — it came a few moments after he exited the hotel.
Walking with first lady Jill Biden down a shopping area of quaint stores and a holiday market, the president was greeted by cheers, along with a small group of protesters shouting “Free Palestine!”
The successful start of the temporary pause and the hostage relief plan, though, came as welcome news for an administration that was central to helping bring it all about.
Biden’s agenda has been consumed by the conflict since the Hamas invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, with numerous calls, a trip to Israel and a tricky tightrope walk navigating diplomacy in one of the thorniest regions in the world.
He’s been under unrelenting pressure over Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza, especially from the political left in his own party.
The hostage release not only gives him a chance to declare victory on the hostages, it also provides a several-day respite in Israel’s onslaught — and the opportunity to say his early embrace of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is paying dividends.
The looming question is how long-lasting it is.
In his remarks, he also prominently mentioned some of the Americans yet to be released, and acknowledged that he doesn’t know the conditions of all 10 Americans who are unaccounted for, including whether all are alive.
“We also remember all those who are still being held, and renew our commitment to work for their release as well: Two American women and one 4-year-old child, Abigail, who remains among those missing,” he said. “We also will not stop until we get these hostages brought home and an answer to their whereabouts.”
He said he didn’t know when American hostages would be released but said, “my hope and expectation is it will be soon.”
“We expect more hostages to be released tomorrow and more on the day after and more on the day after that,” he said. “Over the next few days, we expect that dozens of hostages will be returned to their families.”
He invoked the Thanksgiving holiday — “We can also be thankful of families being ... reunited with loved ones who have been held hostage for nearly 50 days” — and he mentioned the impact of some of the early images Friday.
“The teddy bears waiting to greet those children at the hospital are a stark reminder of the trauma these children have been through and at such a very young age,” he said.
But he also acknowledged some of the controversy ahead. Asked if there should be preconditions on U.S. aid to Israel, as some Democrats have suggested, he said it was “a worthwhile thought.”
“But I don’t think if I started off with that we’d ever got where we are today,” he said. “We have to take this a piece at a time.”
Asked how long the conflict would take and what message he’s had for Netanyahu, he paused.
“I encourage the prime minister to focus on trying to reduce the number of casualties while he is attempting to eliminate Hamas, which is the legitimate objective,” he said. “That’s a difficult task. And I don’t know how long it will take. My expectation and hope is that as we move forward, the rest of the Arab world and the region is also putting pressure on all sides to slow this down, to bring this to an end as quickly as we can.”
Island retreat
The president delivered the remarks here on a sunny afternoon after Thanksgiving, with members of his family spending the afternoon walking around and shopping in the main part of town.
He has spent much of the holiday on the property where he is staying, which is owned by David Rubenstein, the billionaire co-founder of the Carlyle Group private equity firm. On Wednesday, he called leaders of Israel, Qatar, and Egypt, trying to ensure that the deal remained in place.
“As we look to the future, we have to end this cycle of violence in the Middle East,” he said Friday. “We need to renew our resolve to pursue this two-state solution where Israelis and Palestinians can one day live side-by-side in a two-state solution with equal measure of freedom and dignity.”
After his remarks Friday afternoon, he dipped into Brotherhood of Thieves, a family favorite restaurant, for a late lunch. As he swung into the nearby Nantucket Bookworks, he said he was doing some Christmas shopping: “Can’t come without going to the bookstore. We’ve got a tradition.” He emerged with a book — “Democracy Awakening” by Heather Cox Richardson — before continuing the holiday stroll.
Crowds waved and called out to him, and he shouted, “Happy Thanksgiving!” He stopped for photos with a group of kids, and his son Hunter took the photo.
The family made their way toward the town square for an annual tree lightning ceremony. A choir sang, the lights came on, and the mood was merry.
But as the ceremony came to a conclusion, the president, and the crowd, were reminded of the turmoil taking place far from this idyllic island. A group of about 10 protesters, standing directly to the president’s left and in his line of sight, unveiled several signs that read, “Free Palestine” and “End Apartheid and Genocide.”
The speakers played “Here Comes Santa Claus,” over which they could be heard shouting “Biden Biden, you can’t hide! We charge you with genocide!” A man at the microphone asked them to stop, but they continued.
One of the protesters was Sarah Nabulsi, a 34-year-old who grew up in Nantucket and whose father is Palestinian. She said she realized that Biden has spent much of his political career bolstering a pro-Israeli record, but felt in this moment they needed to be heard.
“We wanted to confront him,” she said. “We don’t think it’s appropriate for an elected official to hide here on this island when he’s responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians — directly responsible.”
She knew of his earlier remarks, touting the release of the hostages.
“It’s not a success,” she said. “I don’t see how it could be with all the suffering the Palestinians have had.”
