Hamas on Thursday reiterated its demand that Israel end the war in Gaza as part of any deal to release hostages, and said it would not be influenced by a joint statement signed by the United States, Brazil and 16 others. countries making an appeal to the group.
Senior Hamas member Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters the US needs to force Israel to end its aggression in Gaza. “The ball is now in the American court,” he said.
The United States, Brazil and 16 other countries officially released this Thursday an appeal for Hamas to release all its hostages as a way to end the crisis in the Gaza Strip.
“We call for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza for more than 200 days,” the countries said in the statement, in what a US official called an extraordinary show of unity.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had already told journalists on Tuesday (23) that he had signed the declaration.
All 18 countries have citizens detained by Hamas six months after the group launched its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel and killed 1,200 people. The militants are believed to still be holding 129 hostages out of the 253 they initially took.
Michel Nisenbaum, 59, kidnapped by Hamas, is a Brazilian who has lived in Israel since he was a teenager. Three other Brazilians were killed by the group on the day of the attack.
The signatories were Brazil, USA, Argentina, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand and the United Kingdom.
A US official, briefing reporters on the statement, said there were some indications that there might be a path to a settlement on the hostage crisis, but that he was not entirely confident.
The official did not elaborate, but said the resolution depended on “one person,” the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.
The hostage proposal put forward earlier this year calls for the release of sick, elderly and injured hostages in Gaza in exchange for a six-week ceasefire that could be extended to allow for the delivery of more humanitarian aid to the enclave.
The idea for the joint statement came about two weeks ago when White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with a group of family members of hostages in Gaza, the official said.
Source: CNN Brasil
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