Families of American hostages not invited to White House Hanukkah reception

(CNN) — Several family members of US citizens believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas had asked to attend a Hanukkah reception at the White House Monday night but never received invitations, the father of a 19-year-old missing Israeli American told CNN.

Ruby Chen, whose son Itay is a reservist missing since the militant group’s October 7 attacks on Israel, said a number of the families of American hostages were in Washington, DC, this week, and had reached out to the White House asking to attend the reception but were not invited.

A White House spokesperson declined to comment.

The reception, which celebrated the fifth night of Hanukkah, featured some 800 guests, according to the White House, including Holocaust survivors, lawmakers and various Jewish leaders.

Speaking at the event, President Joe Biden touted the work his administration has been doing to try to a secure the release of the remaining hostages and to get humanitarian aid into Gaza. He said he had spent “probably up to 20 hours” working with Israeli, Qatari and Egyptian counterparts on both fronts.

“There’s a whole range of things going on now that are really very, very difficult,” Biden said. “We’ve gotten more than 100 hostages out and we’re not going to stop till we get every one of them home.”

There are still seven American men and one woman unaccounted for since the Israel-Hamas war began, according to the White House. Four Americans – a 4-year-old girl and three women – have been released.

After formal hostage negotiations that had been taking place in Doha, Qatar, fell apart, the Biden administration continues to be in close contact with their Israeli, Qatari and Egyptian counterparts about ways to get more hostages out, according to officials.

Since the start of the war, families of the missing Americans have had opportunities to speak or meet with the president, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Vice President Kamala Harris.

But as CNN has previously reported, the seeming lack of progress on this front is fueling the families’ anxiety. Some of the families have called on the White House to consider making a side deal with Hamas that focuses on just the American hostages, and have even floated the idea of cutting the Israeli government out of initial negotiations altogether.

Multiple families told CNN that while they felt supported by the Biden administration’s outreach and support so far, the Israeli government has, in stark contrast, been minimally engaged.

Biden on Monday also touted what he said was his “unshakeable” support for “the safety of the Jewish people and the security of Israel and its right to exist.” But in a stark warning, he noted that public support could change swiftly.

“We’ll continue to provide military assistance to Israel until they get rid of Hamas, but we have to be careful – they have to be careful,” Biden said. “The whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight. We can’t let that happen.”

This story has been updated with additional details.

CNN’s Donald Judd contributed to this report.

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