Alexander Schallenberg in Israel: “Hamas should never again…

Foreign Minister Schallenberg hopes to reach a “permanent ceasefire” in Gaza. The release of the hostages must be a top priority.

Tel Aviv. There are more than 130 empty chairs at the long, white-covered Shabbat table in the square in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. A chair for each hostage is still missing in the Gaza Strip after more than five months. Friends and relatives of the kidnapped come here every day to remember the fate of their loved ones.

Hope has been increasing since Tuesday morning. The previous night, US President Joe Biden publicly expressed his hope that the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip would enter into force at the beginning of next week. Gilad Korngold has been worried about his son, Tal Shoham, since October 7. On that day, terrorists kidnapped him from a kibbutz near the Gaza border. His wife and children were released in November during the last ceasefire. But Tel Shoham is still in the clutches of the Islamists. He has dual Israeli-Austrian citizenship because his grandmother was expelled from Vienna by the National Socialists. For this reason, the Republic is making special efforts to release him.

“We see signs that something is moving. But we have learned in this area not to hope too much,” Gilad Korngold, wearing a black T-shirt with a picture of his son, told the Press. Korngold showed no sign of life from his son, Tal. “Since October 7. We have been suffering for 144 days and nights. We just want our son back.”