Global plea for the immediate release of hostages by Hamas in Gaza
Seventeen countries issued a joint statement calling for the immediate release of all hostages held for over 200 days by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. "Among them are our citizens," the document's signatories wrote.
The joint statement from Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States was published on Thursday.
"We call for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip for over 200 days. Among them are our citizens. The fate of the hostages and the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, protected under international law, raises international concerns," the statement announced.
The document emphasized that an agreement on the release of hostages could lead to an immediate and lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Such developments would facilitate the inflow of additional, necessary humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and could lead to a permanent end to hostilities. The signatories pointed out that the residents of the Gaza Strip could then return to their homes and their lands, after previously preparing to provide shelter and humanitarian help.
Appeal to Hamas
The signatories assured that they strongly support the ongoing mediation efforts and hope this will help bring the citizens of their countries home. "We renew our call to Hamas to release the hostages and allow an end to this crisis so we can collectively focus our efforts on providing peace and stability in the region," the statement said.
On 7 October last year, at around 1 am GMT, Hamas attacked Israel. As a result of this attack, over 1,200 people were killed, and more than 240 were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip. Israel responded first with a massive air attack, and then the Israeli military - armoured units and infantry - entered the Gaza Strip.
According to data from the Gaza Strip's health ministry, 34,000 Palestinians have already died in Israeli military actions. UN agencies report that the majority of the approximately 2.3 million residents of the Strip have lost their homes, and a severe humanitarian situation prevails in the enclave.
The Global Initiative on the Classification of Food Security Phases, run by various organisations, including the World Food Programme, regularly warns that all residents of the Gaza Strip "face a high level of serious food insecurity" and that, by the end of May, the northern part of the territory could be affected by famine.
