Hostage release

Netanyahu’s wife wrote to Sheikh’s mother

Sara Netanyahu has intervened in the efforts to secure the release of the hostages in the Gaza Strip.(Bild: AFP)

The wife of the Israeli Prime Minister, Sara Netanyahu, has now intervened in the efforts to secure the release of the hostages in the Gaza Strip. She wrote a letter to the mother of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Mosa Nasser Al Missned. Qatar is a mediator in the negotiations between Israel's government and Hamas.

"I urge you, in the spirit of Ramadan, to use your great influence to work for the release of the Israeli hostages. We cannot remain silent or stand back when the dignity and safety of women are at stake," Sara Netanyahu wrote in the letter. It was published on her husband Benjamin Netanyahu's account on the X platform.

"Reports of rape are appalling"
The reports of sexual abuse and rape in 19 cases are appalling, the letter continues. Such acts against women cannot be ignored or tolerated. This is a call to action that transcends political boundaries and "appeals to our common humanity and our common values."

Here you can see the published letter.

The Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani is in direct contact with Hamas leaders. At the end of February, for example, he met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyya. The mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the USA have been trying for weeks to achieve a ceasefire and an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. The people were kidnapped from Israel in the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7.

Katz: "Stop hell on earth"
Israel's government assumes that around 100 of them are still alive. Foreign Minister Israel Katz has now called on the UN Security Council to exert pressure on Hamas. "Please do your best to stop this hell on earth," he said to the United Nations. A week ago, he accused the organization of trying to "sweep Hamas' crimes under the carpet".

This was rejected by the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict. "The Secretary-General has made no attempt to suppress my report or its findings. On the contrary, I received his full support, politically, logistically and financially, and he also gave clear instructions for the publication of my report and its immediate transmission to the Security Council," said Pramila Patten.

In the text, the Israeli allegations of sexualized violence are classified as credible. There were probably rapes and gang rapes in at least three locations, and sexualized violence was also committed against abducted hostages.