{"id":306462,"date":"2025-03-20T16:22:30","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T20:22:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=306462"},"modified":"2025-03-21T16:25:51","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T20:25:51","slug":"security-council-hears-renewed-ceasefire-appeals-as-israel-vows-to-fight-until-last-hostage-freed-secco-press-release","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/security-council-hears-renewed-ceasefire-appeals-as-israel-vows-to-fight-until-last-hostage-freed-secco-press-release\/","title":{"rendered":"Security Council Hears Renewed Ceasefire Appeals, as Israel Vows to Fight until Last Hostage Freed – SecCo press release"},"content":{"rendered":"
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9882nd Meeting (AM)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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SC\/16024<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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20 March 2025<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Security Council today heard harrowing testimony from a former Israeli hostage amid urgent calls for the immediate, unconditional and dignified release of hostages held in Gaza, as well as the swift restoration of the ceasefire, while Israel pledged to fight until all the captives are freed.<\/p>\n

Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, said the ceasefire that went into effect on 19\u00a0January had \u201coffered a glimmer of hope\u201d by reuniting 25\u00a0Israeli hostages with their loved ones and returning the remains of eight deceased hostages. \u00a0As of today, at least 59\u00a0hostages\u00a0\u2014\u00a0alive and deceased\u00a0\u2014\u00a0are still being held captive, he noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe testimonies of those released provide terrifying accounts of their captivity, including physical and psychological torture, sexual violence and deprivation,\u201d he said. \u00a0The hostages must be allowed to receive visits from the\u00a0International Committee of the Red Cross\u00a0(ICRC). \u00a0The significant Israeli air strikes in Gaza in recent days have also been devastating\u00a0\u2014\u00a0hundreds of Palestinians have been killed, including women and children, and one\u00a0United Nations Office for Project Services\u00a0(±¬ÁÏÍøOPS) staff member, he noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith every passing day, we move further away from the objective of returning the remaining hostages safely to their homes,\u201d he warned, stressing the need for a renewed ceasefire.<\/p>\n

491 Days in Captivity<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u201cI’ve come back from hell,\u201d said Eli Sharabi,\u00a0<\/strong>who was held hostage in Gaza for 491\u00a0days. \u00a0Describing the day he was taken captive, he said he was torn away from his wife\u00a0and\u00a0two daughters. \u00a0His arms and legs were tied so tightly, the ropes tore into his flesh. \u00a0He was fed a piece of pita a day, maybe a sip of tea. \u00a0\u201cThey beat me; they broke my ribs,\u201d he said, adding: \u00a0\u201cWe had to beg for food, beg to use the bathroom; begging was our existence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor 491\u00a0days, I dreamt of seeing my family again, only when I returned home, I learned the truth my wife and my daughters had been slaughtered by Hamas terrorists on 7\u00a0October\u00a02023,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Where was the United Nations and the Red Cross during his 491\u00a0days as a hostage, he asked. \u00a0\u201cI saw Hamas terrorists carrying boxes with the ±¬ÁÏÍø and ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East] emblems on them into the tunnel, feeding terrorists who tortured me and murdered my family,\u201d he said. \u00a0Commending the United States for helping secure his release, he urged Council members: \u00a0\u201cNo more excuses; no more delays; if you stand for humanity, prove it, bring them home.\u201d<\/p>\n

War Continues until Release of Last Hostage<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The representative of Israel said that, for 530\u00a0days, 59\u00a0innocent people have been trapped in Hamas captivity. \u00a0\u201cThey are starving, in the dark, alone, afraid, suffering beyond what words can capture,\u201d he stated.\u00a0 Eli Sharabi testified before the Council today and laid bare the suffering of his captivity.\u00a0 Since 7\u00a0October\u00a02023, there have not been a single resolution condemning Hamas.\u00a0For 530\u00a0days, the Council has spoken about Gaza without mentioning the crimes of Hamas. \u00a0\u201cHow can you claim to stand for international law while ignoring the hostages,\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

The massive amounts of humanitarian aid that Israel has facilitated, coordinated and allowed into Gaza, he said, have reached every segment of the population except one: the hostages.\u00a0 So many Agencies that claim to be the protectors of humanity but have abandoned the hostages entirely, he added. \u00a0Detainees in Israel have three meals a day, medical treatment, visitation of the Red Cross, and before the war, they had visitation of families, while the Red Cross has not spent one moment with the hostages in Gaza, he said. \u00a0Hamas was given a choice, and they chose war.\u00a0 \u201cThis will continue until every last hostage is home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Council members reiterated the call for the release of all hostages, with the speaker for the United States commending Eli Sharabi for his courageous first-hand testimony about the depravity of Hamas. \u00a0Noting that \u201cfive Americans still need to come home\u201d, she added: \u00a0\u201cPresident [Donald J.] Trump has been clear Hamas must release all hostages immediately or there will be hell to pay.\u201d \u00a0Hamas is responsible for the resumption of hostilities, refusing time and time again to accept proposals to extend the ceasefire, she said, adding that Washington, D.C., looks forward to continued discussions with Arab partners on the future of Gaza without Hamas.<\/p>\n

Panama\u2019s delegate noted that Eli Sharabi was unable to return to his wife and daughters after 16\u00a0painful months of captivity \u201cbecause his home had ceased to exist\u201d due to the inhumane Hamas attack. \u00a0France\u2019s solidarity with the hostages is strong, that country\u2019s delegate said, given that French people have also been detained. \u00a0Making hostage releases into a spectacle recalls \u201cthe darkest hours of our history\u201d, he said, while the representative of the Republic of Korea stressed that the degrading treatment of hostages is strictly prohibited under international law.<\/p>\n

The representative of the\u00a0United Kingdom noted that a\u00a0United Nations\u00a0report has concluded that there were reasonable grounds to suspect sexual violence occurred during the 7\u00a0October\u00a02023 attacks. \u00a0He also expressed concern about reports of sexual and gender-based violence against Palestinian detainees by Israeli forces. \u00a0These allegations must be fully investigated, he said.<\/p>\n

The speaker for Greece, reiterating the call for release of all hostages, said the ceasefire in Gaza was an example of what could be achieved. \u00a0The representative of Somalia echoed that, noting that last night\u2019s\u00a0Israel Defense Forces\u00a0strike hit multiple homes in the middle of the night, killing sleeping families.<\/p>\n

Restore Ceasefire<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Expressing condolences to Eli Sharabi, the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine said: \u00a0\u201cMaybe no one around the table can fully grasp what such a loss means, the killing of loved ones, prolonged captivity, fear and trauma, but Palestinians can\u201d, because \u201cthere is not a single Palestinian family that does not have a loved one killed, wounded, detained or displaced\u201d. \u00a0Palestinians come out of Israeli captivity \u201clooking like ghosts, starved and traumatized, beaten and some raped\u201d, he said, adding: \u00a0\u201cIsrael arrests our children, our doctors, our teachers, our workers, family members, bystanders, parliamentarians, academics, human rights defenders.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 42\u00a0days of ceasefire, more hostages were released than in 15\u00a0months of bombardments, he said, noting that the families of the hostages know this and are demonstrating to restore the ceasefire. \u00a0Israel\u2019s recent strikes killed 400\u00a0Palestinians in one night, including over 150\u00a0children\u00a0\u2014\u00a0one of the largest single-day child death tolls in the last year. \u00a0While Palestinians call for a ceasefire, Israel\u2019s Government is trying to convince its people that killing Palestinians is the only way forward. \u00a0But, \u201cwe are rooted as olive trees, deep in our land, you cannot kill all of us\u201d, he underscored.<\/p>\n

Hostages Less Safe amid Resumed Fighting\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u201cPutting Gaza under the threat of gunfire will probably not make the hostages safer,\u201d China\u2019s delegate warned, adding that some hostage families are also worried that the resumption of fighting will put the hostages in greater danger. \u00a0Regretting Israel\u2019s resumption of military operations in the Gaza Strip, the representative of the Russian Federation said it is hard to discuss any prospects of the ceasefire when the Israeli leadership has \u201calready made the choice in favour of war\u201d.<\/p>\n

Algeria\u2019s delegate, noting that Council\u00a0members have adopted several resolutions calling for the release of all hostages, said over 9,500\u00a0Palestinians are currently detained in Israeli prisons with more than 3,400\u00a0held under administrative detention without charges. \u00a0Why are these individuals arrested, he asked. \u00a0\u201cOnly by holding all parties to the same legal standards can we hope to bring an end to the suffering and build a just and lasting peace,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Guyana\u2019s delegate urged the Council to be first to institute measures to address violations of international law, including in circumstances where those violations feature as the taking of hostages or the administrative detention of innocent civilians. \u00a0\u201cAccountability is an important deterrent,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have consistently claimed that people trapped in Gaza cannot continue to endure this terrible suffering, let them be Israeli hostages, or Palestinian civilians,\u201d said Slovenia\u2019s delegate.<\/p>\n

Pakistan\u2019s delegate said that civilians have been the central victims of the current war. \u00a0\u201cHostage-taking is prohibited under international law and constitutes a violation of fundamental humanitarian principles,\u201d he recalled, while also adding that the Council must never \u201cforget the thousands of Palestinians, including women and children, who remain arbitrarily detained\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sierra Leone\u2019s delegate and the representative of Denmark, Council President for March, speaking in her national capacity, stressed the importance of immediately releasing all hostages and renewing efforts towards an immediate ceasefire.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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9882nd Meeting (AM) SC\/16024 20 March 2025 The Security Council today heard harrowing testimony from a former Israeli hostage amid urgent calls for the immediate, unconditional and dignified release of hostages held in Gaza, as well as the swift restoration of the ceasefire, while Israel pledged to fight until all the captives are freed. Khaled […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":301,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[1329],"document-source":[1362],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1769,5449,1829,2265,2033,2005,6848,1741,5200,1857,2613,2285,2117,6245],"entity":[],"document-language":[],"class_list":["post-306462","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-press-release","document-source-security-council","document-subject-armed-conflict","document-subject-assistance-to-the-palestinian-people","document-subject-casualties","document-subject-ceasefire","document-subject-children","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-hostages","document-subject-human-rights-and-international-humanitarian-law","document-subject-humanitarian-relief","document-subject-incidents","document-subject-internally-displaced-persons","document-subject-prisoners-and-detainees","document-subject-terrorism","document-subject-violence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/306462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/301"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/306462\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":306467,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/306462\/revisions\/306467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=306462"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=306462"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=306462"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=306462"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=306462"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=306462"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=306462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}