Relatives of Hamas hostages protest outside UN headquarters, demand release

New York [US], September 27 (ANI): Relatives of individuals held hostage by Hamas staged a protest outside the United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday, urging the global community to take decisive action for the immediate release of those still in captivity.

Speaking to ANI, one of the relatives of the people held hostage by Hamas emphasised that the top priority is the safe return of hostages.

“My message for the rest of the International community is, if you won’t wake up now and realise that radical Islamic youth are being pushed on you, you’re going to wake up and you’re going to be in the place that we are in right now,” he said.

“I am warning you to understand that if you don’t act now against Hamas, its proxies and all radical Islamic youth, you’re going to be next… 80 per cent of the people of Israel, not just Prime Minister Netanyahu, want the war to end. We want them to be released. The only thing that matters is to bring them back,” he added.

Further, the relative noted that, “everything else will be taken care of once that ends… We need to bring our soldiers back home. We need to stop the suffering and the cycle of death that has been there for the past 2 years.”

On the fourth day of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Netanyahu delivered a forceful address, vowing that Israel is “not done yet” in its war against Hamas.

He said that even though Hamas forces have been diminished, they still pose a threat and “vow to repeat the atrocities of October 7.” “Thanks to the resolve of our people, the courage of our soldiers, and the bold decisions we took, Israel rebounded from its darkest day to deliver one of the most stunning military comebacks in history. But, we’re not done yet,” he declared.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s remarks came against the backdrop of growing disapproval from traditional allies. The UK, France, Australia and Canada recently joined a number of countries in extending recognition to a Palestinian state, while calls for a ceasefire have dominated interventions at this year’s UNGA.

Netanyahu dismissed those appeals as insincere. “You know deep down that Israel, Israel is fighting your fight,” he told the Assembly. “So I want to tell you a secret behind closed doors, many of the leaders who publicly condemn us, privately thank us,” he said. “They tell me how much they value Israel’s superb intelligence services that have prevented, time and again, terrorist attacks in their capitals, time and again, saving countless lives.” (ANI)

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