Leaders from all over Europe responded in horror on Sunday to the recent images released by Hamas of Israeli prisoners Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, who were held hostage almost 670 days ago.
French president Emmanuel Macron Taken X to call the clearly emancipated state of both hostages a representation of Hamas “” unlimited inhumanity “and considered it” abject cruelty “.
“This is what embodies Hamas,” he added.
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This Screengrab of a video released on August 1, 2025 by the armed wing of Palestinian militant group Hamas shows Israeli hostage agent Evyatar David who looks weak and malnourished. David, who became 24 in captivity, was abducted during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. (AFP via Getty Images)
Macron – who sent geopolitical shock waves when he announced at the end of last month that France would recognize the state of Palestine in September – renewed calls for an immediate cessation – the fires in the Gaza Strip, the return of all hostages and the full resumption of help to the area.
Macron doubled for the state on Sunday and said that ending the conflict is no longer enough.
“This effort must be accompanied by a political solution for the next day. That solution is the two -state solution, in which Israel and Palestine live side by side in peace. It is the only possible way to a future where justice, safety and dignity are guaranteed for all peoples of the region,” he said.
Macron has also made his position clear when it comes to Hamas, who interrogated some, including Israel and the US, after his urge to the Palestinian state.
“Let no ambiguity be: within this political vision that we maintain, we demand the total demilitarization of Hamas, its full exclusion from any form of administration and recognition of Israel by the state of Palestine,” he added.
Macron’s announcement led other Western countries to follow the example, including the VK, Canada and even Germany – although Berlin’s position has left room for some ambiguity.
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This Screengrab of a video released on July 31 by Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian militant group of Islamic Jihad, shows a hostage, identified as Rom Braslavski by the Highthries and Missing Families Forum. (/Islamic Jihad Media Office/AFP via Getty images)
The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz repeated Macron’s comments in an interview with German Outlet Bild on Sunday and reportedly said that the videos of the hostages “show that Hamas should no longer play a role in the future of Gaza.”
Merz also called on Israel to no longer block Gaza help in retribution for cruelty.
The British Foreign Minister David Lammy also went to X on Sunday and called the videos “pathogenic” Displays of Hamas “Propaganda”.
“Every hostage must be released unconditionally,” he said. “Hamas must disarm and have no control over Gaza.
“We work together with partners on a long-term solution and plans for peace. This must start with an immediate ceasefire, which liberates the hostages, and removing inhuman auxiliary restrictions,” Lammy added.
The recently released images of two of the 50 hostages that were still held in Gaza coincided with a journey from the White House Steve Witkoff at the end of last week to Israel, in which he visited with leaders and the families of the hostages in Tel Aviv.
Reporting has suggested that the US is now insisting on an extensive deal with a completely cessation -the fire and the return of all hostages, instead of incremental deals that are apparently favored by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Families of hostages protest and demanded their release of Hamas Captivity in the Gaza Strip, on the Plaza that is known as the hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday 2 August 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
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Witkoff reportedly told the families of the hostages that he believes that the US and the other Allied countries help to mediate the negotiations, that a deal is almost protected – although this conviction has been expressed countless times.
Only the American hostages Edan Alexander has been released under a deal that has not been forged before by the Biden and the then-income Trump administrations, who released 33 hostages in March.
