UAE FM: Release Israeli captives, replace Hamas’s rule to restore calm in Gaza 

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has called for the release of Israeli captives held in Gaza and for putting in place a ruling authority over the enclave which doesn’t include Hamas in order to restore calm.

“First, getting the hostages out, we need calm in Gaza, and we need an authority that’s not Hamas that controls Gaza,” he told Fox News network.

Earlier  this week, the Emirati minister met with the Deputy President of the Palestinian Authority, Hussein Al-Sheikh, in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, as part of the latter’s tour of several Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

According to Emirati media, the two sides discussed urgent regional issues, particularly the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip as well as ways to strengthen international efforts to provide relief to civilians and urgent support to meet their basic needs, in addition to exploring new political prospects for relaunching the peace process.

Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip have escalated since last March, amid UN warnings of the collapse of the Strip’s health system due to Israel’s systematic targeting of hospitals and civilian infrastructure and its blockade, through which it has banned the entry of food, water, fuel and medicines since 2 March.