BERLIN: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock welcomed Monday the release of 11 Gaza hostages, including “two German teenagers” as part of the truce agreement between Israel and Hamas.
“After 52 days of suffering and despair, their mother can hold them in her arms again.
“My thoughts are with the families who are still waiting in fear. We are doing everything we can so that they too can hold them in their arms,” Baerbock posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The release of the two hostages on Monday brings the total number of German passport-holders released by Hamas to 10 — four were released on Friday and four more on Saturday.
Baerbock also welcomed the announcement by Hamas of a truce extension, which she said would allow “precious time for our aid to reach the people of Gaza.”
“And it’s a glimmer of hope so we don’t lose sight of what could happen: concrete steps toward a secure future for all the people in the region.”
Berlin welcomes release of Gaza hostages, including two Germans: minister
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Berlin welcomes release of Gaza hostages, including two Germans: minister
- The release of the two hostages on Monday brings the total number of German passport-holders released by Hamas to 10 — four were released on Friday and four more on Saturday
US lawmaker Fine criticized by rights advocates, Democrats after anti-Muslim remarks
- Fine’s past comments include calling for the mass expulsion of all Muslims from the US, labeling of Muslims as “terrorists” and the mocking of the starvation and killing of Palestinians in Gaza, among others
WASHINGTON: Rights advocates and multiple Democrats on Tuesday condemned anti-Muslim comments by Republican US Representative Randy Fine who said on Sunday that “the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.”
Fine, whose comments against Muslims have often sparked outrage, has dismissed the criticism and since doubled down on his remarks on social media. The Council on American-Islamic Relations designated the Republican US lawmaker from Florida as an anti-Muslim extremist last year.
“If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one,” Fine said on X on Sunday in a post that had over 40 million views as of Tuesday afternoon.
Some high-profile Democrats including California Governor Gavin Newsom called for him to resign while House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Fine an “Islamophobic, disgusting and unrepentant bigot.”
Jeffries also called for Republicans — who hold a majority in both chambers of Congress — to hold Fine accountable.
“To ignore this is to accept and normalize it,” Democratic US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said. Fine’s past comments include calling for the mass expulsion of all Muslims from the US, labeling of Muslims as “terrorists” and the mocking of the starvation and killing of Palestinians in Gaza, among others. Rights advocates have noted a rise in Islamophobia in the US in recent years due to a range of factors including hard-line immigration policies and white-supremacist rhetoric, as well as the fallout of Israel’s war in Gaza on American society.
