ACLJ to UN: Demand Hamas Release Hostages and Dismantle Terror Networks

We just sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council demanding that it secure the unconditional and immediate release of all remaining Israeli hostages in Hamas’ captivity in Gaza. We take this issue especially personally at the ACLJ.

After the devastating attacks on October 7, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and other terrorist organizations from Gaza brutally murdered approximately 1,200 innocent Israeli and foreign civilians and then abducted 251 hostages. We immediately went to work through our global offices in Israel, the U.S., and Europe to advocate for their release. We began representing several families and their loved ones who were taken hostage. Six of those hostages have thus far been released.

Sadly, Hamas terrorists recently released videos of two Israeli hostages, Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski, showing their shockingly emaciated condition. Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called for an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council to plead for the release of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas.

The U.N. Security Council heard statements from Member States, with the U.S. identifying Hamas as the true threat to Gaza, noting that a ceasefire could begin immediately if Hamas released the hostages. Unfortunately, most other Member States focused their remarks on condemning Israel for defending itself, despite universally denouncing Hamas’ hostage-taking and calling for their release.

In our letter, sent through our international affiliate, the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ), which has special consultative status at the U.N., we emphasized:

[The] videos released by Hamas purposefully depicting [the hostages’] physical state have showed once again that Hamas continues to provoke not only Israel but the entire world. The message Hamas is conveying is that it will continue to openly torture and kill civilians, as it has gotten away with it. Hamas knows that many in the international community have and will continue to ignore these atrocities and instead condemn Israel, merely for lawfully defending itself. This has been evident since the unprovoked and horrific attack on October 7.

We further stated:

From the UN Commission of Inquiry to Special Rapporteurs to the General Assembly to the leaders of individual Member States, all of them are focused on blaming Israel for the unfortunate civilian casualties and lack of food distribution in Gaza. They simply ignore that Hamas initiated the conflict, wanting civilian casualties in Gaza because it uses civilians as human shields by carrying out terrorist attacks from civilian facilities, and it deliberately interferes with food distribution to harm its own people, who it uses as pawns. Yet, the international community is giving Hamas what it wants—condemnation of Israel.

It is well known that Hamas deliberately operates its militant terrorist attacks from civilian areas – neighborhoods, hospitals, schools, and places of worship. Yet, the international community only blames Israel.

It’s clear that the conflict would end if Hamas released the hostages and its ability to attack Israel were dismantled. However, the international community will not do what is necessary: unequivocally condemn Hamas, demand the release of the remaining hostages without any conditions, and take measures to dismantle Hamas and other terrorist organizations operating from Gaza and elsewhere.

We hope that the suffering this conflict has caused innocent people will end soon. However, it requires that the U.N. and world leaders make the difficult decisions that such times demand. Therefore, we emphasized in our letter that the unprovoked torture and murder of Israeli civilians and the civilian population used by Hamas as human shields demand that the U.N. Security Council take concrete measures for the unconditional and immediate release of the remaining hostages and to dismantle Hamas, PIJ, and other terrorist organizations operating in Gaza and elsewhere.