Spain celebrates release of last living Israeli hostages held by Hamas

Eduardo González The Spanish government celebrated this Monday the release of the last twenty living Israeli hostages who were kidnapped "by the terrorist group Hamas" and had been "held in intolerable conditions" for two years. It reiterated "its gratitude to the mediators, the United States, Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, for their efforts, which have led to this release." Hamas released, this Monday, 20 Israeli hostages who had been held since October 7, 2023, as part of the ceasefire agreement adopted last week by Israel and the Islamist group to end the war in the Gaza Strip. Another 28 did not survive, but their families will recover their bodies thanks to the 20-point peace plan promoted by US President Donald Trump. “The Government wishes a speedy recovery to those returning to their families and extends its deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the deceased,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continued in a statement. “The release of the hostages, which Spain has been consistently demanding since their kidnapping more than two years ago, represents the fulfillment of the first phase of the agreement reached between the parties, along with the beginning of the ceasefire and the massive entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip, which will help alleviate the catastrophic situation facing the Palestinian population of Gaza,” it continued. “Spain will continue to redouble its efforts and contribute to advancing the subsequent phases of the peace agreement, in order to ensure that this first hopeful step paves the way for lasting peace, security, and stability in the region, based on the effective implementation of the two-state solution: Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security,” it concluded. The terrorist attack of October 7, 2023, in which more than 250 hostages were kidnapped and 1,200 people were killed, was the "casus belli" used by the Israeli government under Benjamin Netanyahu to launch an offensive against the Gaza Strip. Since then, the operation has caused nearly 68,000 deaths, 170,000 injuries, and the destruction of 90% of the homes in the Palestinian enclave. The news of the hostages' release coincides with the signing ceremony of the Middle East Peace Plan in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, attended by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares. For its part, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain (FCE) celebrated, "on behalf of Spanish Jews, the release of the Israeli hostages who, after more than two years of captivity, have finally regained their freedom today." "We express our sincere joy at the reunion with their families and at the end of an experience marked by suffering and uncertainty." We also hope for the release of the hostages killed in captivity and stand in solidarity with their families,” the FCJE said in a statement. “Likewise, we celebrate the end of the war and the relief it brings to all the victims on both sides who have paid an unbearable price for a war that should never have happened and that began with the terrorist massacre of October 7, 2023,” it added. “We trust that this ray of hope that illuminates the Middle East today will transform into a horizon of lasting peace and security,” it concluded.

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