US President Joe Biden is leading a joint statement by the leaders of 18 countries holding citizens hostage by Hamas, calling on the terrorist group to immediately release them from Gaza.
Biden was joined by the leaders of Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, Hungary and the United Kingdom. Israel itself was not among the signatories, as the focus was on securing international support.
“We call for the immediate release of the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip for more than 200 days. Among them are our own citizens. The fate of the hostages and the civilian population of Gaza, protected by international law, is a cause of international concern”
– say the leaders.
“We emphasize that the proposed agreement on the release of the hostages would result in an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza, which would facilitate the flow of further needed humanitarian aid throughout Gaza and lead to a real end to hostilities.”
“Gazaians could return to their homes and lands if arrangements were made in advance to provide shelter and humanitarian aid”
the statement adds.
“We strongly support the ongoing mediation efforts to bring our citizens home. We reiterate our call on Hamas to release the hostages and allow us to end this crisis so that we can collectively focus our efforts on bringing peace and stability to the region.”
– says the leaders’ announcement.
A senior administration official told reporters on a briefing call about the joint statement that the United States had tried to issue such a joint statement earlier in the war, but disagreements between the countries over the language prevented its release.
In a meeting with U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan about two weeks ago, the American relatives of the hostages asked the Biden administration to try to redraft a joint statement, the senior U.S. official says.
The U.S. was able to get unanimous support this time because countries understood the hostages were in an increasingly dire situation, the official said. The White House shared with them the elements of the deal on the table that Israel accepted but Hamas rejected.
“There is a deal on the table that would bring an immediate ceasefire in Gaza with the release of women, wounded, elderly and sick hostages, which is ready. We worked this out in meticulous detail and Hamas rejected it. This is why the fighting is still going on in Gaza”
said the senior government official quoted by the Times of Israel.
The senior official also said that a US forensic analysis of the video taken by Hamas of Hersh Goldberg-Polin has been underway since the video was received on Monday, adding that the White House is in contact with the family of the 23-year-old Israeli-American hostage and is cooperating. with Qatar, Egypt and others to secure his release along with the other hostages.
During the briefing, the official shares that Biden spent more than an hour with Avigail Idan and her family at the White House yesterday, letting the 4-year-old girl freed in the latest November hostage situation play in the Oval Office and climb through the Resolute Desk door. as John F. Kennedy Jr. did when his father worked over him in an iconic 1963 photo.
While Avigail played, Biden talked with the girl’s aunt and uncle, who have been raising the child since she returned home. The four-year-old girl was with her parents when they were murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7. The president also informed the family of ongoing efforts to free the other hostages.
They also prayed for the Israeli hostages at CPAC Hungary in Budapest
Slomó Köves, the head rabbi of the EMIH, and Sándor Németh, the leader of the Congregation of the Faith, also drew attention to the importance of protecting Israel and Jewishness.
