courtesy: the media line
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After Hamas released 13 of 50 hostages on Friday, a top advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained why he is not surprised American citizens not being among those freed.
Apart from the Israeli civilians, Hamas had released Thai nationals.
Mark Regev, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, explained, “We weren’t taken by surprise [that no Americans were released]. We know that the Thais were speaking directly to the Iranians.” He continued that Iran is the primary funder of Hamas, which makes it clear that “if Iran asks [them] to do something, they will do it, as reported by FOX News, citing his statement.
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin tweeted on Friday that 12 of his country’s citizens were released.
Regev said that Thailand government has been in direct touch with Tehran, which was also reported by an England-based Arabic news site, quoting Times of Israel.
He also thanked the U.S. government in assisting the hostage release, but noted that the agreement frees only 50 hostages, which means that there are still 37 purportedly left to be freed in a short time.