Luminita Odobescu: Romania is making sustained efforts to release the hostages held by Hamas

Hamas is on the verge of concluding an armistice agreement with Israel, the political leader of the terrorist group, Ismail Haniyeh, said.

An official of the group later said that the negotiations were aimed at the duration of the ceasefire, the access of aid to Gaza and the release of the hostages.

Last week there were reports, denied at the time by officials, that there would be a five-day suspension of hostilities and the release of 50 hostages.

Hamas captured around 240 people on October 7 when it launched a large-scale terrorist attack that killed 1.200 people, mostly civilians.

Several of the hostages have since been found dead, a small number have been released, and a few others have appeared in the records.

The situation of the hostages also concerns the Romanian authorities, as stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminita Odobescu:

Luminita Odobescu: Romania firmly supported the release of all hostages without preconditions, including the six who have dual citizenship, Israeli and Romanian. We are making sustained efforts in close coordination with the European partners, but also with the American partners, with the partners in the region, so that, we hope, we will succeed in releasing all the hostages.

Luminita Odobescu also stated that the authorities are continuing to make efforts in order to evacuate the Romanian citizens who are still in the Gaza Strip.

She stated that approximately 360 people requested evacuation, and 237 have been taken out of Gaza so far.

Translated by: Radu Matei