THAILAND issued a joint statement with the US and 15 other countries calling for the release of all hostages, including Thais, being held in the Gaza Strip while supporting negotiations for a permanent ceasefire, TV Channel 7 and CNN said this morning (June 7).
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin posted a message on Facebook saying he, together with friendly countries, issued this statement calling for the release of these hostages as soon as possible while reiterating that the Thai government attaches the highest priority to every effort that leads to their release and encourages the parties involved to quickly reach a negotiated and permanent ceasefire.
The United States, Thailand, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain and the United Kingdom signed the joint statement. Those 17 countries have citizens whom Hamas took captive at the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.
This is the latest move in the Biden administration’s push to bring to an end the Israel-Hamas war.
“It is time for the war to end,” the statement, shared with CNN, bluntly says. The joint message also points to the Israeli ceasefire and hostages proposal that President Joe Biden publicly outlined in a speech last week as “the necessary starting point” for bringing the Gaza conflict to a close, eight months after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
“There is no time to lose. We call on Hamas to close this agreement, that Israel is ready to move forward with, and begin the process of releasing our citizens,” the statement says. “At this decisive moment, we call on the leaders of Israel as well as Hamas to make whatever final compromises are necessary to close this deal and bring relief to the families of our hostages, as well as those on both sides of this terrible conflict, including the civilian populations.”
“It’s time for this war to end,” the president said.
Immediately after Biden detailed the Israeli proposal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that his country would not end the war until Hamas was defeated.
Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, convened for the first time last month an in-person meeting of ambassadors and chiefs of mission representing countries whose citizens were taken hostage by Hamas, CNN reported, at a moment when a deal was stalled.
During that in-person meeting in Washington, the group discussed ideas to secure the release of the hostages in Gaza, with a particular focus on ways that they could speak more as a collective group in both public and private settings. The ambassadors and chief of missions gathered with Sullivan had brainstormed ways to exert pressure on the negotiating parties – including Israel, Egypt and Qatar – to return to the negotiating table and finalise a ceasefire agreement, sources told CNN at the time.
Senior US officials including CIA Director Bill Burns and White House Middle East Coordinator Brett McGurk have also returned to the Middle East this week in an effort to add traction to the ceasefire negotiations.
CAPTIONS:
Top: A person prays in front of photos of hostages posted at Columbia University in New York City, New York, on April 24, 2024. Photo: CNN
Insert: Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin. Photo: Naewna
Front Page: A Palestinian girl carries water containers in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on June 3, 2024. Photo: AFP/Omar Al Qatta and published by CNA
Also read: India’s Modi set for tougher ride after close election win
Zelenskyy in Philippines to promote peace summit he says China and Russia are trying to undermine
District-level senatorial election might be put off from upcoming Sunday
More Bitcoin mining dens to be raided in Chiang Mai
PM rooting for England In UEFA Euro 2024
Emergency room worker plays mobile game while checking sick child
