A group of 18 countries on Thursday called on Hamas to immediately release the hostages it has been holding since the October 7 attack on Israel and accept a ceasefire deal on the table.
“We strongly support continued mediation efforts to bring our people home. We reiterate our call to Hamas to release the hostages and let’s end this crisis so that we can collectively focus our efforts on ensuring peace and stability in the region,” the countries said in a joint statement.
The countries that signed the statement are Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
“There is a deal on the table; he meets almost every requirement that Hamas has … and what they need to do is release this vulnerable category of hostages to move things along,” the senior administration official said.
The official said there were “some indications” there could be a path to a deal, “but I’m not completely confident.”
As for the current proposal, he said it would lead to an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza, as well as allow the unrestricted return of Palestinians to northern Gaza.
The official put the blame squarely on Hamas and its leader Yahya Sinwar when asked if Israel and the Netanyahu government were blocking a possible deal. “If I was answering your question six weeks ago, I might have had a different answer,” the official said. But he added that Israel agrees with the current proposal and the latest proposal to Hamas. However, the response from inside Gaza was “totally unconstructive.”
The official revealed that Hamas has since sent signals that it is not completely opposed to the current ceasefire agreement.
Photo: BGNES
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