Marcelo laments the death of a Portuguese-Israeli hostage and recalls the urgency of a ceasefire

The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, lamented this Friday the death of the Israeli hostage of Portuguese nationality Dror Or in the Gaza Strip, calling for the release of all hostages and recalling the urgency of a ceasefire.

“Having confirmed the tragic death of Dror Or, a Portuguese citizen kidnapped in Gaza, the President of the Republic offers his condolences to his family, particularly his children, and renews his call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages in Gaza and the urgency of a ceasefire”, can be read in a note published on the presidency’s website.

Israeli hostage of Portuguese nationality Dror Or, detained in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas attacks on October 7, was declared dead, Israeli authorities and family members announced today.

The Israeli Government said, on its official account on the social network now orphans.

Dror Or, 49 years old, was killed and his body has been held in the Gaza Strip since October 7th, the authorities of the Be’eri kibbutz, where he lived and whose inhabitants were among the most affected by the attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against Israeli territory.

Dror Or’s wife was killed in the attack, while two of her three sons, aged 17 and 13, were kidnapped and later released under a truce agreement between Israel and Hamas in late November.

The announcement of Dror Or’s death comes at a time when the mediating countries – Qatar, the United States and Egypt – await Hamas’ response to a new truce proposal combined with the release of hostages.

The news of the death of the citizen with Portuguese nationality was reported by The Guardian newspaper.

Also today, the Portuguese Government and the Israeli ambassador in Lisbon, Dor Shapira, mourned the death of Dror Or.

The war broke out on October 7, when Hamas commandos carried out an attack that caused the death of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to a report by the France-Presse news agency (AFP) based on official Israeli data.

More than 250 people were kidnapped and 129 remain detained in Gaza, of which 35 have died.

In retaliation, Israel promised to annihilate Hamas and launched a vast offensive in the Gaza Strip, which has already caused more than 34,500 deaths, most of them civilians, according to the Palestinian movement’s Ministry of Health.