Baerbock urges Hamas to release hostages
Germany’s Foreign Minister calls in talks for more humanitarian aid to people in the Gaza Strip.
Riyadh (dpa/d.de) – With new ceasefire negotiations for the Gaza conflict underway, Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock urged the Islamist Hamas organisation to release Israeli hostages. Speaking on Deutschlandfunk, Baerbock stressed it was entirely up to Hamas whether the hostages would ultimately be released. She also said it was important that the USA, European countries and Arab states exerted pressure together.
Several foreign ministers of Western and Arab states have met in the Saudi capital of Riyadh for talks on the Middle East conflict. Foreign Minister Baerbock also called for more humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip and a peaceful solution. In talks Baerbock had emphasised that an independent Palestinian state as part of a comprehensive peace process and a two-state solution remained the clear objective of the German government, said a spokesperson for the German delegation.