Serbia has joined the US-led coalition of nations including Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Thailand, and the United Kingdom in urging Hamas to release hostages.
According to a senior administration official, leaders of those countries, in a joint statement, are calling for an “immediate release” of all hostages, including their own citizens, held by Hamas in Gaza for over 200 days.
The coalition of world leaders, including Serbia, asserts that the well-being of hostages and Gaza’s civilian population, protected under international law, is of global concern.
“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. Gazans would be able to return to their homes and their lands with preparations beforehand to ensure shelter and humanitarian provisions,” the world leaders say.
According to a senior administration official, the deal on the table “meets nearly all of the demands that Hamas has had.” What Hamas is now expected to do is to release the vulnerable category of hostages “to get things moving.”
The joint statement that’s been in the making for some time, found its impetus in the international scope of the hostage situation. “We had tried this earlier,” said the official, underscoring that while the US, alongside Qatar and Egypt, plays a pivotal role as the mediator, the issue truly embodies an international dimension.
Following a meeting held at the White House two weeks ago with Jake Sullivan and the families of eight Israeli-American hostages in Gaza the unanimous decision to call on Hamas was reached “fairly quickly.”
The senior administration official shared that everyone was aware that is very difficult to get something like this done just given the different views of the crisis and differences between these countries on so many issues.
“But we decided to make a run at it and I have to say, particularly just given where we are and the overall process and the talks, it came together, you know, fairly quickly.'”
