Portugal and 17 other countries call for immediate release of hostages held by Hamas – Israel-Hamas War

Portugal and 17 other countries, including the United States of America, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, signed an appeal for the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas, it was announced today.

“We demand the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza for more than 200 days. Among these hostages are citizens of our countries”, says a joint statement from the leaders of the 18 countries released today by the White House.

The declaration is also signed by Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Spain and Thailand.

According to the document, “the fate of the hostages and civilian population in Gaza, who are protected by international law, is a cause for international concern.”

The leaders maintain that the agreement on the table to release the hostages would allow for “an immediate and prolonged ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip, which would facilitate the provision of additional humanitarian assistance needed to that territory and lead to “a credible end to the hostilities”.

“The inhabitants of Gaza could return to their homes and their lands”, with prior actions to ensure that they had shelter and humanitarian assistance, they said.

The joint statement comes a day after the Islamist group Hamas published a video showing one of the Israeli hostages in Gaza, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government for abandoning the hostages. .

This Thursday, a senior Hamas political official assured that the Islamic group is willing to move forward with a truce of at least five years with Israel, if an independent Palestinian state is established.

Al-Hayya was speaking to the Associated Press at a time when there continues to be an impasse in negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The attack carried out by Hamas, on October 7, in Israeli territory, resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, according to an AFP report prepared based on official Israeli data.

Around 250 people were also kidnapped and taken to Gaza, where 129 still remain, according to Israel, including 34 already considered dead by the army.

The vast retaliatory military operation carried out by Israel in the Gaza Strip has already caused more than 34 thousand deaths.