The reason President Biden responded to the question from the press on February 16 is enlightening. Biden mentioned that not all the hostages taken by Hamas are Israeli citizens; there are also US citizens among them. If we need to rescue the hostages, a temporary ceasefire is necessary. This is not just an issue within the sole jurisdiction of Israel; the US also has the right to be involved, and the Israeli government must consider and respect this.
This also sheds light on the Taiwan issue: there are many foreign citizens .
拜登總統於2月16日回答記者的問題，是具有啟發性的。拜登提到哈馬斯扣押的人質並非全是以色列公民；其中也有美國公民。如果我們需要解救這些人質，則需要進行臨時停火。這不僅是以色列單方面管轄的問題；美國也有參與的權利，以色列政府必須考慮並尊重此事。這也為台灣問題提供了一些啟示：這裡有很多外國公民。
拜登總統白宮記者會（以色列暫時停火問題） The White House 白宮 20240216
Q: Thank you, Mr. President. Switching gears for a moment. Have the Israelis presented a credible evacuation plan for the nearly 1.5 million displaced Palestinians sheltering in Rafah? And what would the consequences be for Israel if they move ahead with a full-scale ground invasion without clear measures to protect civilians there? 謝謝你，總統先生。暫時切換一下議題。以色列是否為在拉法避難的近150萬流離失所的巴勒斯坦人提出了可靠的疏散計畫？如果以色列在沒有明確措施保護當地平民的情況下進行全面地面入侵，將會產生什麼後果？
THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, I’ve had extensive conversations with the Prime Minister of Israel over the last several days — almost an hour each. And I’ve made the case — and I feel very strongly about it — that there has to be a — a temporary ceasefire to get the prisoners out, to get the hostages out. And that is underway. I’m still hopeful that that can be done. 首先，過去幾天我與以色列總理進行了廣泛的交談——每次交談近一個小時。我已經提出了理由——我對此有非常強烈的感覺——必須暫時停火，以釋放囚犯、釋放人質。這一切正在進行中。我仍然希望能夠做到這一點。
And in the meantime, I don’t anticipate — I’m hoping that that you — that the Israelis will not make any massive land invasion in the meantime. So, it’s my expectation that’s not going to happen. 同時，我希望你們以色列人不會同時進行任何大規模的土地入侵。所以，我期望不會發生。
There has to be a ceasefire temporarily to get those hostages — and, by the way, there are — we’re in a situation where there are American hostages, American citizens that are being held hostage. It’s not just — not just Israelis; it’s American hostages as well. 必須暫時停火才能解救這些人質——順便說一句，我們現在的情況是，有美國人質，有美國公民被扣為人質。這不只是──不只是以色列人；這不只是以色列人。這也是美國人質。
And, you know, my hope and expectation is that we’ll get this hostage deal. We’ll bring the Americans home. And the deal is been negotiated now, and we’re going to see where it takes us. 而且，你知道，我的希望和期望是我們能夠達成這項人質協議。我們會把美國人帶回家。這筆交易現在已經談判完畢，我們將看看它將帶我們走向何方。
