Israeli president 'shocked' hostages in Gaza no longer top priority

TEL AVIV

Israel's president said on Tuesday he was shocked that the issue of hostages being held by Palestinian militants in Gaza was no longer a top priority in the country, days after criticizing the government's war policy.

"I am quite shocked how suddenly the issue of the hostages is no longer at the top of the priority list and at the top of the news," Isaac Herzog said in a video issued by his office, adding it was important to keep working towards "bringing the hostages home, down to the last one.”

"We must never lose sight of this issue, as a nation, until every last hostage is brought home. This is a national effort," Herzog, who was speaking at a conference in Tel Aviv, continued.

Some 251 people, including women and children, were seized during Hamas' attack on southern Israel in 2023, which left 1,218 Israelis dead.

Of those 58 are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

On March 24, Hamas' armed wing released a video of two hostages, Elkana Bohbot and Yosef Haim Ohana. The two men, both abducted from a music festival, described their experiences in captivity and called to be released immediately.

 UN to reduce staff in Gaza

Meanwhile, the United Nations said on March 24 it will “reduce its footprint” in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli tank strike hit one of its compounds last week, killing one staffer from Bulgaria and wounding five other employees.

The world body will temporarily remove about a third of its approximately 100 international staffers working in Gaza, U.N. Secretary-General spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.

Dujarric's statement was the U.N's first to point the finger at Israel in the March 19 explosion at the U.N. guesthouse in central Gaza. He said that “based on the information currently available,” the strikes on the site “were caused by an Israeli tank.”

He said the U.N. “is not leaving Gaza,” pointing out that it still has about 13,000 national staff in Gaza, mainly working for UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.