18 countries call on Hamas to release captives
The US and 17 other countries have issued an appeal for Hamas to release captives as a pathway to end the crisis in Gaza.
“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.
The signatories were the leaders of Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, the United Kingdom and US.
“We emphasize that the deal on the table to release the hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza, that would facilitate a surge of additional necessary humanitarian assistance to be delivered throughout Gaza, and lead to the credible end of hostilities,” the statement said.
Hamas says any captives deal must include end of Israel’s war on Gaza: Report
Hamas has reiterated its demand that Israel end the Gaza war as part of any deal to release captives held there, the Reuters news agency reports. Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official, told Reuters that US pressure on Hamas “has no value”.
Statement by 18 countries makes no mention of Palestinian prisoners in Israel
Eighteen countries, including the US, appear to be trying to step up pressure on Hamas in these ongoing attempts at negotiation. These countries issued a joint statement calling on Hamas to immediately release all captives being held in Gaza.
There’s no mention whatsoever of any concomitant release of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israel by the Israeli government, but this is stepping up pressure on Hamas, it would appear, as these negotiations grind forward.
The statement says as well that the release of the captives would allow for a greater influx of humanitarian aid into Gaza. This is regarded as utterly essential, but looming behind all of this is ongoing concern about an Israeli operation in the south.
This would create massive issues within Gaza and would certainly derail any possibility of ongoing negotiations.
Israel should allow investigators into Gaza: Amnesty
A lack of resources and continuous air strikes in Gaza will hinder efforts to investigate human rights abuses, says Donatella Rovera, a senior adviser with Amnesty International.
“The expertise, the skills, the resources – such as the ability to carry out DNA tests – none of that is available [in Gaza], and to make matters worse, there is the constant bombardment,” Rovera told Al Jazeera.
“Where there is evidence of a crime committed yesterday, it may be destroyed by a bombardment committed today,” she said.
Furthermore, Rovera noted, human rights investigators have not been allowed inside Gaza for years. “Something can be done immediately. That is for the Israeli authorities to allow independent investigators in immediately. If they have nothing to hide, they should have no reason in preventing them getting into Gaza,” she added.
