We call for the immediate release of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza for more than 200 days. Our own citizens are among them
– is stated in the joint statement, which, in addition to the United States and Hungary, to the heads of state and government of Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand and the United Kingdom issued on behalf of.
The signatory countries also emphasize that the draft agreement on the partial release of the hostages, which was recently rejected by Hamas, would have meant an immediate and extended ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and would have helped increase humanitarian supplies and created the conditions for Gazans to return to their homes.
A high-ranking official of the US government told reporters in Washington, minutes before the release of the statement, that the document was signed by a wide range of countries unanimously, which shows the seriousness of the case and what is also justified by the situation of their detained citizens.
He reported that there is some openness on the part of Hamas to move forward in the negotiations, but he also added that the Palestinian terrorist organization’s decision-makers are not the ones participating in the discussions. Those who make the decisions are in the Gaza Strip, underground, together with the hostages, he added.
In response to the question, the official said that on the Israeli side, the latest agreement proposal, which was worked out through the mediation of Egypt and Qatar, had already won the support of Israel, while the attitude of Hamas was not “constructive”, but he also admitted that there was a point during the process when Israel did not act either. of the 253 hostages taken on October 7 last year, several were released in November, and according to Israeli statistics, 133 remained in the captivity of Hamas. Among them, the death of 36 people was confirmed, there is no reliable information about the fate of the others.
A video was released Wednesday showing Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin. According to the American government official speaking on Thursday, the recording can be considered authentic, so you can trust that the 23-year-old man is really alive.
According to the previous statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, there is another hostage of Hungarian citizenship in the captivity of Hamas.
Cover image source: Getty Images
