Serbia’s ambassador to the United States, Dragan Šutanovac, assured on Friday during an interview with Walla, that his country is working with all its might to bring back home Gaza hostage Alon Ohel, who holds Serbian citizenship.
The comments were made after the release of the video showing Ohel, which the ambassador called an encouraging sign, especially in light of previous information that raised concerns he may have been wounded during the war.
"Alon, like the other hostages held by Hamas, is completely innocent. We consider his continued captivity to be severe and unacceptable," Šutanovac emphasized.
The ambassador added that Belgrade will not relent and will continue to act through diplomatic channels with international actors to ensure Ohel's return home, along with the release of all the other hostages.
Hamas releases video of the hostages
Hamas released a new video showing the hostages Ohel and Guy Gilboa-Dalal, this being the former's first appearance in captivity in 700 days, on the organization's Telegram account on Friday.
Alongside the video’s release, several teasers were released, featuring captions such as "Time is running out" and "Coming soon...". Guy's family agreed to release a few short clips from the full video.
In the footage, Gilboa-Dalal is seen riding in a car, stating that he is in Gaza City, with a crowd of Palestinians, sounds of gunfire, and drone noises in the background. Later in the video, Ohel enters the vehicle and embraces him.
The video release also sparked statements from the Hostage Families Forum, which claimed that the IDF has no accurate information about the hostages' whereabouts, and that the ongoing military operation in Gaza may lead to “the risk of murder and permanent disappearance in the rubble of the Strip.”
The statement read: "This operation poses an immediate and direct threat to our loved ones who have been languishing in Hamas’ tunnels for 700 days.
"Sadly, we have not heard of any way to protect them, nor has any plan been presented to us that would ensure that Operation Gideon's Chariots II will not turn into ‘Murder of the Six part two,'" in reference to when the IDF found the bodies of six hostages - Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Ori Danino - in tunnels beneath Rafah.