This afternoon, the King received at the Zarzuela Palace a delegation of relatives of some of the people who remain in the hands of Hamas after being captured in the terrorist attacks in Israeli territory that took place on October 7. The relatives of the 136 hostages still in the hands of Hamas, of the more than two hundred who were captured, have formed groups to hold interviews with leaders from around the world in search of international solidarity to achieve the release of the hostages; A group formed by relatives of seven of the hostages has been in Madrid and has also been received by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez.
Accompanied by the Israeli ambassador in Madrid, Rodrica Radian-Gordon, the relatives have attended their meetings with the King and Sánchez wearing t-shirts and posters with the motto ‘Bring them home’, in allusion to their demand that the Government of Israel do everything possible to ensure that they are released alive.
Along with the relatives of the seven hostages – Simón, Tal Shoham, Ori Danino, Dolev Yehoudde, Muhammad El Atrash and the brothers Iair and Eitan Horn – three members of the organization ‘Hosting and missing families forum’ participated in the meeting ( Hostages and missing families forum). Present at the meetings in Madrid was Clara Marman, of Argentine origin, who was kidnapped for about 50 days and whose brother, Fernando Simón, is still in the hands of Hamas.
After listening to the testimonies of the relatives, Sánchez has once again demanded “the immediate and unconditional release” of the 136 hostages still in the hands of Hamas, ensuring that “there is no justification for violence.”
In his latest speeches, Felipe VI has referred to the situation in the Middle East and, while condemning the attacks on the Palestinian population of Gaza by the Israeli army, he has requested the release of the hostages held by Hamas, the majority Israelis and also other nationalities who were captured in different towns near Gaza, in which Hamas caused the death of more than a thousand people. In line with the position maintained by successive governments of Spain since the Madrid Peace Conference, held in 1990, the King has defended the two-state solution: Israel and Palestine. .
The President of the Government has condemned the “atrocious” attacks committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023 and has advocated for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as well as the holding of a peace conference to materialize the two-state solution, as reported by Moncloa in a statement. President Pedro Sánchez who already met with some of them at the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, during his tour of Jerusalem, Palestine and Egypt.
The President of the Government has on several occasions condemned the attacks carried out by Hamas, while denouncing the death of civilians in Gaza and calling on Israel to comply with International Humanitarian Law in its military offensive.
The last mention of the conflict in the Middle East was made this Monday during a television interview, where he pointed out that the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has lost “complete reason” with the “level of destruction” of his military offensive on Gaza. , at the same time that he expressed his desire for Congress to debate this legislature to recognize Palestine as a State.
