President Joe Biden on Thursday joined leaders of 17 other countries in calling on Hamas to release all hostages held in Gaza.
Every country has citizens held hostage by Hamas. In addition to demanding their release, the leaders are calling for an “immediate and prolonged ceasefire.”
“We call for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas and Gaza for more than 200 days now,” the leaders say. “They include our citizens. The fate of the hostages and the civilian population of Gaza, who are protected by international law, is of international concern.
“We emphasize that the agreement on the table to release the hostages would result in an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza, which would facilitate the arrival of additional necessary humanitarian aid across Gaza and lead to a credible end to the hostilities.”
As of early April, 133 hostages remained in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian residents of Gaza examine the aftermath of an Israeli attack
The statement is part of a pressure campaign aimed at getting both sides to sign a ceasefire as the war in Gaza has lasted nearly seven months and ceasefire negotiations are at a standstill. dead.
In November, a week-long ceasefire allowed the release of more than 100 hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. Since then, the discussions have been frozen.
Israel and Hamas have rejected ceasefire efforts, insisting that its version of victory is within its reach.
A senior administration official, speaking to reporters Thursday morning, said the release of the hostages would mean “this crisis is going to calm down.” It’s just a very clear path.
“There is a very advanced agreement on the table,” the official said. “I think this is the road map for the end of the crisis, and all Hamas needs to do is release its vulnerable category of hostages and we would move forward.”
Hamas says it will hold on to the hostages until Israel agrees to a more permanent ceasefire, withdraws its forces from Gaza and releases hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including high-ranking militants.
President Joe Biden joined 17 other world leaders in demanding the release of the hostages.
The leaders’ statement comes after Hamas released a video proving the life of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, nearly seven months after his kidnapping following the brutal October 7 invasion.
The 24-year-old, born in California in March 2000, who was kidnapped from the Nova Festival on October 7, was seen in a video released today by Hamas accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of leaving him in the terrorist group for 200 days. .
Goldberg-Polin, who is seen missing his left hand and part of his arm, begins by identifying himself, before saying: “I was arrested on October 7 at the Nova Festival in Rei’m. I went out to look for fun with my friends.
He lost his arm while saving his friends on October 7 by throwing a gernade that was near them.
The emaciated man, who spent more than six months as a hostage and was seen with a shaved head, said: “Instead, I found myself struggling to survive with serious injuries all over my body.
“Nevertheless, I took it upon myself to protect myself and the people around me who were afraid because there was no one to protect us that day.
He then blames Netanyahu and his government for the decision not to rescue the hostages, saying: “Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, (you) should be ashamed of yourselves because you neglected us and thousands of others. other citizens.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin (photo) can be seen without his left hand and part of his arm
Relatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the October 7 attacks by Palestinian militants and their supporters demonstrate outside the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv
Friends and supporters of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American-Israeli kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 at Nova Festival, demand hostage deal
The video also comes the day after Biden met Abigail Edan, the 4-year-old American girl held hostage in Gaza for several weeks at the start of the war.
Abigail, who has dual Israeli-American citizenship, was taken hostage after her parents were killed in the attack and was released almost seven weeks later.
She was the first American hostage released by Hamas as part of a deal with Israel to exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners early in the war. Abigail was four years old during her captivity.
Biden spent more than an hour with Abigail and her family on Wednesday, according to the White House.
“She played in the Oval Office. “She crawled through the office door resolutely with that famous photo of John F. Kennedy’s little boy,” a senior administration official said. “She came out and was on the swing and playing on the playground we have on the South Lawn.”
The war in Gaza has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, about two-thirds of whom were children and women.
Meanwhile, Israel intensified its airstrikes on Rafah overnight, killing at least six Palestinians. Thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge in the southern Gaza city.
Biden and other Israeli allies have warned that the invasion could cause widespread casualties.
But Netanyahu says Israel can only achieve its goals of dismantling Hamas and returning dozens of hostages if it expands its ground offensive toward Rafah.
A senior Hamas politician told The Associated Press that the Islamic militant group was willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and would lay down its arms and transform into a political party if an independent Palestinian state was achieved. established within the framework of the prior agreement. -Borders of 1967.
Abigail Edan, center, with her aunt Liron, left, and uncle Zuli, right, after being released from Hamas in November – she met with President Biden at the White House on Wednesday
Israel is very unlikely to agree to this. Netanyahu and his government have pledged to crush Hamas in return for its October 7 attack. Additionally, Israeli leaders are categorically opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state on lands captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.
“There will be no Palestinian state with them. Hamas is a terrorist organization. We support a two-state solution,” White House spokesman John Kirby said.
“Hamas keeps wanting to move the posts. They can end the war.
The Palestinian Authority hopes to establish an independent state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza – areas conquered by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. While the international community overwhelmingly supports such a two-state solution, Netanyahu’s hard-line government rejects it.
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