dpa
Washington
The United States, Germany and 16 other countries have called on Palestinian group Hamas to immediately release all hostages who have been held in the Gaza Strip for over 200 days.
Hamas - along with other groups - took over 200 people hostage when they raided Israel on October 7, killing over 1,200 others. Israel has been bombarding the Gaza Strip ever since.
“We call for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza for over 200 days. They include our own citizens. The fate of the hostages and the civilian population in Gaza, who are protected under international law, is of international concern,” a joint statement said.
“We emphasize that the deal on the table to release the hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza, that would facilitate a surge of additional necessary humanitarian assistance to be delivered throughout Gaza, and lead to the credible end of hostilities.”
The leader of Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, and the United Kingdom also put their names to the letter.
“We strongly support the ongoing mediation efforts in order to bring our people home. We reiterate our call on Hamas to release the hostages, and let us end this crisis so that collectively we can focus our efforts on bringing peace and stability to the region,” the statement added.
