On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN International’s “The Brief,” Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard responded to arguments that Hamas could simply end the war right now if it surrendered and released hostages by saying that “Hamas must release all hostages. They must do that. Humanity must win. But this will not happen as long as the Israeli government keeps playing games on the back of its own Israeli citizens.”
Host Jim Sciutto asked, “President Trump, again, today, places the blame for suffering in Gaza entirely on Hamas, as does Israel. And they say that the war could end tomorrow if Hamas were to lay down its arms and return the hostages. What’s your response to that?”
Callamard responded, “Well, first of all, let’s be clear that what happened on October 7 was horrendous, and constitute[s] crimes against humanity, as the International Criminal Court said. Let’s reiterate that the holding of hostages for the last two years is also a war crime and possibly a crime against humanity. All hostages must be released. But let me be very clear, the [families] of the hostages themselves have repeatedly said that the only obstacle to the release of the hostages was Prime Minister Netanyahu. They said it again last week and the week before when Israel bombed Qatar. There [have] been repeated negotiations for the release of hostages, and at the last minute, it is always the Israeli government that has backed out of what was being negotiated. There is no doubt that Hamas must release all hostages. They must do that. Humanity must win. But this will not happen as long as the Israeli government keeps playing games on the back of its own Israeli citizens.”
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