President Joe Biden took some criticism on Wednesday after he traveled to Tel Aviv to speak with Israeli leaders about last week’s horrific terrorist attacks — only to leave again later in the day without seeing a single American hostage freed by their Hamas terrorist captors in Gaza.

Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and then, in his public remarks, urged Israel to respond with deliberation rather than allowing themselves to be “consumed by rage.” He also promised $100 million in aid for the civilians in Gaza, but only briefly mentioned the dozens of hostages Hamas terrorists are still holding — several of whom are believed to be American citizens.

“Disaster in Israel,” Richard Grenell, former acting Director of National Intelligence, posted on X. What about the US hostages, @JakeSullivan46?!? Why didn’t Joe Biden talk about our HOSTAGES?!”

🚨 Disaster in Israel

What about the US hostages, @JakeSullivan46?!?

Why didn’t Joe Biden talk about our HOSTAGES?!

— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) October 18, 2023

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) asked, “Did I miss the part of Joe Biden’s speech about the American hostages?”

“Is Joe Biden really going to leave the Middle East without a single American hostage being freed?” another posted, followed by, “Yup. Biden left without any American hostages. At this point him leaving Americans behind is routine.”

Yup. Biden left without any American hostages.

At this point him leaving Americans behind is routine. https://t.co/DDBk0oKQeb

— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) October 18, 2023

Defense attorney Marina Medvin laid into Biden after he left Israel, saying that he never should have agreed to send any aid into Gaza — especially as long as there were still Americans held hostage there by Hamas terrorists.

“I am outraged at Biden giving $100,000,000.00 of US taxpayer funds to Hamas, the government of Gaza. They’re holding babies, children, young girls hostage. They are holding AMERICANS hostage. And our president gave them taxpayer funds?!?” Medvin posted via X. “I am fuming. This is absolutely atrocious. They slaughtered 1,400 people, a third of them little kids, in the most horrific and torturous ways, annihilating full families, and Biden tipped them.”

I am outraged at Biden giving $100,000,000.00 of US taxpayer funds to Hamas, the government of Gaza. They’re holding babies, children, young girls hostage. They are holding AMERICANS hostage. And our president gave them taxpayer funds?!? I am fuming. This is absolutely atrocious.…

— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) October 18, 2023

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis shared a similar sentiment, referring to Biden’s promised $100 million in aid money as a “gift to Hamas” and said it amounted to the Biden administration funding the terror group while they still held American hostages.

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No U.S. tax dollars to the Gaza Strip.

Hamas is holding American hostages and Biden wants to fund them?

I challenge every Republican running to step up to the plate and oppose Biden’s $100 million gift to Hamas. pic.twitter.com/h0wPS6bAKs

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) October 18, 2023

The prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway has pleaded guilty to extorting her mother.

Joran van der Sloot, who was 17 when Holloway went missing on the island nation of Aruba, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to extorting Holloway’s mother in exchange for fake information about the teen’s death, AL.com reported. While pleading guilty to extortion and wire fraud, van der Sloot also reportedly confessed to killing Holloway.

“You have finally admitted that, in fact, you murdered her,” Beth Holloway, Natalee’s mother, said in court, according to the outlet.

“You terminated her dreams, her potential, her possibilities, when you bludgeoned her to death in 2005,” Beth added. “You didn’t get what you wanted from Natalee, your sexual satisfaction, so you brutally killed her….You are the one in Aruba no one wants to be, the black mark on the island.”

Van der Sloot’s confession has not been released.

Van der Sloot responded in the affirmative when Judge Anna Manasco asked him if he wanted to plead guilty, and said “yes ma’am” when she asked if he knew he could be charged with perjury for lying.

Manasco said at the hearing that she considered rejecting the plea agreement so that van der Sloot could face trial where, if convicted, she could sentence him to a term that would run consecutively, rather than concurrently, with the sentence he is still serving in Peru for the 2010 murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores. Manasco decided to accept the agreement in order to get van der Sloot’s confession.

“I would like to take this chance to apologize to the Holloway family, to apologize to my own family, to say I hope the statement I provided brings some kind of closure to everyone involved,” van der Sloot said in court, according to AL.com.

Van der Sloot will be returned to Peru to continue his 28-year sentence for the murder and extortion convictions. Should his murder sentence in Peru end early, he would be extradited to the U.S. to finish his extortion and wire fraud convictions here, Manasco added.

Van der Sloot extorted money from Holloway’s mother by offering to tell her where her daughter’s body was. The information he provided turned out to be false.

At the end of March 2010, two months before he murdered Flores, van der Sloot allegedly contacted a legal representative of Holloway’s mother, Beth. Van der Sloot said he would tell Beth where her daughter’s body was and what led to her death if she paid him $25,000 upfront and an additional $225,000 later. John Q. Kelly, the legal representative for Holloway’s family, went to Aruba to meet with van der Sloot and gave him $100, after which Kelly reported the encounter to the FBI. A sting operation was set up to catch van der Sloot, who accepted a $15,000 wire transfer to his bank account and a cash payment of $10,000, all of which was recorded by undercover investigators.

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In exchange for the money, van der Sloot told Kelly that his father – a judge – buried Holloway’s body in the foundation of a house. When authorities checked his story, they learned the house hadn’t even been built when Holloway disappeared. Van der Sloot eventually emailed Kelly to admit that he lied.

Instead of arresting van der Sloot then, the FBI allowed him to take the $25,000 and leave for Bogotá, Colombia. He wouldn’t be indicted on the charges for another month, and it wouldn’t be until 2014 that the Peruvian government announced van der Sloot would be extradited to the U.S. to face those charges – in 2023.

Holloway’s body has never been found. Van der Sloot was the last person to see her alive, but neither he nor anyone else has been directly charged for her disappearance.