France will keep fighting to obtain the release of the two French-Israeli nationals held by Hamas, foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot told BFM TV on Monday.
France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot, Ludovic Marin/Pool via Reuters
France will keep fighting to obtain the release of the two French-Israeli nationals held by Hamas, foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot told BFM TV on Monday.
"We will continue to fight until the last hour for their release," Barrot told BFM TV, adding France had "no news on their health status nor on the terms of their detention".
Hamas released three Israeli hostages and Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, on the first day of a ceasefire suspending a 15-month-old war that has devastated the Gaza Strip and inflamed the Middle East.
French-Israeli nationals Ofer Kalderon and Ohad Yahalomi are expected to be on the list of 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the draft Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.
Reporting by Dominique Vidalon
Saudi Arabia and Syria signed a cooperation agreement between the two countries' defense ministries on Wednesday, Saudi state news agency SPA reported, as Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group continues its missile and drone attacks on the kingdom.
Ankara rejected on Wednesday what it called the "prejudiced and unfair" stance of the European Union towards fundamental rights and the judiciary in Turkey, and regarding Cyprus, contained in the bloc's report on EU membership candidates.
Turkey's parliament is set on Wednesday to ratify a defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan that includes a collective defence clause, committing NATO's second-largest army to Riyadh's defence as it faces attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis.
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