It’s a fundamental responsibility of government to come to the aid of American citizens in peril overseas.
That’s why the U.S. traded the release from prison of the notorious Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer, for the release from Russia of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, who then revised her opinion about standing on the court for the U.S. national anthem.
So far, Michigan native Paul Whelan, who has languished in a Russian jail since 2018, has not been so fortunate, although his family and friends continue to campaign for his release. So do The Wall Street Journal and its journalists for their colleague Evan Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen who just spent his 32nd birthday in a Russian prison and for whose release we continue to call.
The U.S. citizens currently trapped in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is waging war with Hamas and conditions are deteriorating, certainly are not high-profile athletes, and they lack high-profile media campaigns for their release. But be they hostages held by Hamas or ordinary residents of, or visitors to, the Gaza Strip, their passports give them the right to expect timely U.S. help.
Given the conditions in Gaza, we urge the Biden administration to amp up its efforts to get U.S. citizens out.
We don’t doubt such efforts are being made. But national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday that, while both Israel and Egypt were ready to let the international citizens out, Hamas was blocking the exit of all foreign citizens from Gaza and “making demands,” which implies they want to use the internationals as a bargaining chip. Some 600 Americans are said to be seeking an exit from Gaza, as are some 200 British citizens, as well as a number of French and German citizens and those of other nations. The Daily Telegraph reported Sunday that the U.K. shares the U.S. concern about the Hamas tactics.
On Monday, Robert Halfon, a British government minister, told Sky News that if foreign citizens are not being allowed to travel out of Gaza, then “that is a form of hostage taking.”
He is right. Hamas cannot be allowed to block the U.S. from removing its citizens.
Obviously, this is all a matter of negotiation that must be pursued with an eye to avoiding potentially catastrophic escalation. But whether by land, sea or air, on their own feet or with the direct intervention of their government, U.S. citizens in Gaza must be allowed to leave.
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