Austria continues its efforts to free the Austrian, who has been held captive by the militant Palestinian organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip for four months.
“We leave no stone unturned. “This is an Austrian family man,” Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) emphasized on Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, where he met Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.
Kidnapped by Hamas
They are also in contact with Egypt and Israel on the issue. “We don’t know where she (the hostage, note) is. We never got any indication that he would no longer be alive,” Schallenberg said, referring to the Austrian who was kidnapped in Israel on October 7, 2023 as part of the Hamas massacres.
According to current information, the hostage is Israeli-Austrian dual nationality Tal Shoham. He was kidnapped with his wife and several children. Unlike him, the other family members, some of whom also have German nationality, were released.
Hamas still holds 130 hostages
Qatar is mediating efforts to broker a ceasefire in the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas. During the ceasefire, hostages will be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners for the second time since the start of the war. Thani also met Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog in Munich. Hamas is said to still be holding 130 hostages.
Schallenberg praised the efforts of Thani, who has “strongly supported” the release of hostages for months. “We want two things,” Schallenberg said, “the humanitarian aid must come in (to the Gaza Strip, mind you), the hostages must go out.” A ceasefire is the “logistically logical condition” for this.
“Don’t outweigh one trauma against another.”
According to Schallenberg, there is “great fear” among participants at the Munich Security Conference about a major Israeli offensive in the south of the Gaza Strip. “Israel must make it clearer that it distinguishes between the (Palestinian) civilian population and the Hamas terrorists,” the foreign minister demanded. “This too often fades away,” he said, adding, “despite all understanding of Israel’s right to self-defense.” No state – not even Israel – is above international law.
On October 7, 2023, Israel lost the “nimbus of immunity” it had possessed since the Yom Kippur War, exactly fifty years earlier. However, one should not “weigh one trauma against another trauma, one injustice against another injustice”.
“Very moving”
Schallenberg and his ÖVP party colleague, European Minister Karoline Edtstadler, met relatives of Hamas hostages at the Munich Security Conference. Edtstadler spoke of a “very moving event”. Reports from those affected for months without confirmation that family members were still alive were tear-jerking, she said.
Schallenberg wants to travel to the Middle East region in two weeks. As he announced in Munich, it will take him to the Egyptian capital Cairo, the Jordanian capital Amman, but also to the Palestinian leaders in Ramallah and Israel.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
