The Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed this Tuesday that the Spanish Iván Illarramendi, of whom there has been no news since last October 7 when the Hamas attack took place in Israel, would be kidnapped in the hands of this terrorist group, which He has about 200 hostages in his possession.
In a message on X, former Twitter, the Israeli ministry has expressly included the Spanish flag among those of the 42 countries whose nationals are in the hands of Hamas. Until now, the Spanish Government had not wanted to go into details about the circumstances in which Illarramendi, 46 years old and from Zarautz, would find himself.
The acting Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, had announced on October 9 that there were two Spaniards “affected” by the attack by land, sea and air perpetrated by Hamas. Later, on October 11, the Government confirmed that the other Spaniard, the young Maya Villalobo, 19 years old and who was doing military service in Israel, had died.
Until now, the only thing known about Illarramendi is that he was with his wife, a Chilean national, in Kibbutz Kissufim, very close to the border with the Gaza Strip, and that it had been assaulted by Hamas militiamen.
In its message on X, the Israeli Foreign Ministry stressed that “there are currently foreign citizens from more than 40 countries held hostage by Hamas.” “We ask you as parents, as children, as human beings to share their stories and help us bring them back home,” he encourages, in line with what a Ministry spokesperson also states in the video that accompanies the text.
For his part, the acting President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, has demanded “the immediate release without conditions of all hostages, including our compatriot Iván Illarramendi.”
