site.btaTwo More Romanians Taken Hostage by Hamas in Gaza Strip

Two more Romanian citizens, who also hold Israeli citizenship and reside in Israel, have been confirmed as hostages of Hamas, held in the Gaza Strip, the Romanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement made available to BTA. A partial English translation of the text has been published on romania-insider.com.

The Romanian Foreign Ministry said: "Israeli authorities have informed us that, following the checks carried out, two more dual citizens, Israeli and Romanian, with residence in the State of Israel, are hostages in the Gaza Strip."

The ministry also stated that the Romanian Embassy in Tel Aviv and the Romanian Consulate General in Haifa are maintaining contact with the Israeli authorities.

In total, three people with dual citizenship - Romanian and Israeli - are currently being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The first Romanian citizen held hostage by Hamas was confirmed by Romanian authorities about a week ago, romania-insider.com recalled.

Romania has called for the immediate release of all people held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the online story goes. Digi24 quoted a Romanian Foreign Ministry spokesperson as saying: "To date, neither the Embassy nor the Consulate has received any requests for consular assistance regarding the disappearance or death of other Romanian citizens in Israel. The current balance sheet indicates four Israeli-Romanian dual citizens who have died, one dual citizen who is missing, and another is being held hostage in the Gaza Strip."

The Romanian Foreign Ministry also said in its statement that Bucharest, acting through its diplomatic missions in Tel Aviv and Cairo, stays in close contact with the authorities in Israel and Egypt over the evacuation of Romanian citizens and their families. Egypt and Israel have given assurances that the Rafah border crossing between the two countries will remain open for evacuation purposes in the coming days.