On Thursday, the United States and 17 other countries jointly called for Hamas to release all hostages as a way to end the crisis in Gaza. However, Hamas stated that they will not compromise to international pressure.
According to reports from Reuters, the 18 countries issued a joint statement on Thursday, stating, “We urge the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza for over 200 days.”
A senior U.S. official called it an unusual unanimous action.
All 18 countries have citizens detained by Hamas. Six months ago on October 7th last year, Hamas launched a sudden attack in southern Israel, resulting in 1,200 deaths. It is believed that Hamas still holds 129 of the 253 hostages taken on October 7th.
The leaders of the United States, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, and the United Kingdom are among those who signed the statement.
The statement emphasized that the hostage release agreement under discussion would immediately achieve a long-term ceasefire in Gaza, allowing for more essential humanitarian aid to reach the entire Gaza population and fostering trust that hostilities will cease.
However, Hamas senior leader Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that Hamas will not be influenced by the statement and stated that the U.S. needs to compel Israel to end the war in Gaza.
He said, “Now is the time for the U.S. to take action.”
A U.S. senior official said the idea to issue the joint statement arose about two weeks ago when White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with a group of hostages’ families in Gaza.
The day before the statement was released, U.S. President Biden met with former hostage Abigail Edan in the Oval Office. Abigail is a four-year-old American girl who was also taken captive after witnessing her parents being killed by Hamas militants.
The official mentioned that she played in the Oval Office and climbed under the President’s desk.
The official also stated that U.S. officials are analyzing the video released by Hamas on Tuesday about American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
When asked about hostage diplomacy, Israeli government spokesman David Mencer told reporters that Hamas is dragging its feet on reaching a hostage agreement.
“It’s Hamas continuing to walk away from the negotiating table. It’s Hamas refusing to release our people. They must be released immediately,” he said.