Service situation in the Gaza Strip: Shoham demands freedom for all those affected!

Service situation in the Gaza Strip: Shoham demands freedom for all those affected!

Tal Shoham, an Austro-Israeli, today, on April 3, 2025, after 505 days of captivity by Hamas completed his first visit to Austria. During his stay, he met Chancellor Christian Stocker (ÖVP) and Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger (Neos). This visit comes at a time when the diplomatic efforts to return to other hostages are intensified in the Gaza Strip. Stocker assured that Austria will do everything possible to ensure the safe return of the remaining hostages, while Meinl-Reisinger pointed out that there are still too many hostages in the hands of Hamas, as Krone

Shoham was kidnapped on October 7, 2023 in Kibbutz Be’eri, where over 100 people were brutally murdered. The community of fate is severely affected; According to relatives, three out of twelve family members were killed in this incident. During captivity, Shoham experienced unimaginable suffering, including physical abuse and psychological torture. He took around 30 kilograms and spent more than eleven months hidden in a tunnel. It was not until February 2024, 16 months after his kidnapping, that he was allowed to see his family as part of a ceasefire and hostage agreement. Most members of his family, including his wife Adi and the two children, were released at the end of November 2023, such as added.

in Vienna, Shoham also met with other members of hostages and Israeli ambassador David Roet. At this meeting, relatives held photos of two hostages that are still in custody. Ilan Dalal, the father of a hostage, took the opportunity to thank the Austrian federal government for its diplomatic efforts. After talking to the government representatives, lunch with State Secretary Alexander Pröll (ÖVP) and Holocaust survivors planned. Shoham's grandmother had fled from Vienna during the time of National Socialism, which reinforced the bond on the Austrian history of survival and rescue, emphasizes Krone .

Shoham also plans to give a speech in front of the UN in Vienna on Friday. He not only wants to draw attention to the situation of the hostages, but also gain support for the release of the people still in Gaza. This is in the context of a worrying fact: According to Israeli information, there are still 24 hostages in the Gaza Strip, as well as the corpses of 35 other kidnapped. Shoham said that the current generation in Gaza does not want peace and that Hamas does not act like a western army, which illustrates the complex background of the continuing conflicts in the region Reporting .

The events around Tal Shoham are an urgent example of the comprehensive humanitarian challenges in the Middle East. The already complex situation is not facilitated by the intergovernmental tensions, of which the conflicts in Syria are also shaped. These flawless dynamics, in which several countries are involved, make the search for peace and justice appear as an ever more pressing task.