The leaders of the United States, Britain, France and more than a dozen other countries called in a joint statement Thursday for Hamas to release the scores of hostages it is holding, the White House said.
“We call for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza for over 200 days. They include our own citizens,” the leaders said.
The United States and 17 other countries on Thursday issued an appeal for Hamas to release all of its hostages as a pathway to end the crisis in Gaza, but Hamas vowed not to relent to international pressure.
“We call for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza now for over 200 days,” a statement by the countries said, in what a senior U.S. official called an extraordinary display of unanimity.
Six months after the Palestinian militant group launched its attack on southern Israel on October 7 and killed 1,200 people, all 18 nations have citizens detained by Hamas. Of the 253 hostages that Hamas captured on October 7, it is thought that 129 are still in their custody.
The Presidents of Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, and the United States were among those who signed the document.
