Embassy is informed by Israel that Brazilian is among Hamas hostages

The Brazilian embassy in Israel confirmed to CNN this Thursday (30) that Brazilian Michel Nisenbaum, missing since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, is considered a hostage of Hamas.

Diplomacy was informed about the situation by Israeli authorities. When contacted, Itamaraty has not yet responded.

Until then, the Brazilian government had been reporting that it was in contact with local authorities and that the matter was restricted to Nisenbaum’s family.

This morning, Ambassador Frederico Meyer received the Brazilian’s sister at the embassy in Tel Aviv and confirmed his hostage status.

In a publication on the internet, the Brazilian representation says that “the Brazilian Ambassador to Israel met this morning with the sister of the only Brazilian hostage in Gaza”.

According to the text, Michel Nisenbaum, 59, was “kidnapped by Hamas, according to information from the Israeli authorities, on the morning of the October 7 attack on the way to bring his granddaughter, who would sleep that night with her father.” .

Contact with Nisenbaum was lost at 7 am, on the day of Hamas’ first attack on Israel. When his daughter tried to contact him at 7:20 am, the call was answered in Arabic and shouts of “Hamas” were heard, according to the Brazilian representation.

The embassy highlighted that all efforts are being made to rescue the Brazilian. “Ambassador Frederico Meyer assured the victim’s sister that Brazil is doing everything in its power to help free the Brazilian and the other hostages. Brazil maintains diplomatic relations with all member states of the United Nations, is a member of BRICS, a group of countries that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, maintains diplomatic relations with Israel and the Palestinian Authority, as well as with the moderators of the agreement: Qatar and Egypt”, he highlighted.