Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar rebuked Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and segments of the international community during a press conference on Sunday, accusing the terrorist groups of using the starvation and torture of Israeli hostages as part of a "deliberate and well-planned sadistic propaganda campaign."
Addressing international media, Sa'ar cited newly released footage of hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski, noting their emaciated condition and describing the forced digging of a grave as part of the terrorists' psychological warfare. "The world saw the thick arm of the well-fed terrorist - next to the starved and tortured Evyatar," he said.
He emphasized that 50 hostages, at least 20 of them still alive, remain in Gaza, held in dire conditions without access to Red Cross representatives, despite prior agreements. Sa'ar warned that hostage-taking by terrorist organizations like Hamas is a strategic tool to maintain power and manipulate international negotiations.
"Terror states and organizations kidnap civilians in order to ensure their own survival and interests," Sa'ar stated. "This is a dangerous phenomenon that could happen tomorrow anywhere."
The minister announced his departure to New York to lead a special UN Security Council session on the hostage situation, expressing gratitude to the US and Panama for supporting Israel's call to convene the meeting. "This must not stop until the hostages are home. All of them," he insisted.
Sa'ar also accused major global media outlets of failing to highlight the suffering of the hostages, calling the absence of their images from front pages "shameful." He condemned what he termed an "unbalanced and twisted anti-Israeli agenda."
Further criticizing the recent actions by countries such as France, the UK, and Canada for recognizing a Palestinian state, Sa'ar argued that such moves have undermined hostage negotiations. "These are the fruits of October 7th," he said, quoting a Hamas leader. He warned these diplomatic steps only serve to embolden Hamas and prolong the conflict.
"It's immoral. And it's also politically foolish," Sa'ar declared. "If you can't help - for God sake - don't continue to cause damage to all the people living in our region."
The Foreign Minister concluded with a renewed call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and for the international community to reject false equivalencies between terrorists and their victims.