Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Thursday, January 26, 2023

Herzog briefs NATO officials on Israelis being held captive in Gaza

By Lazar Berman 26 January 2023, 8:41 pm 0 Edit

Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter

President Isaac Herzog meets with officials at NATO headquarters in Brussels during his visit on January 26. 2023. (President's Office)

BRUSSELS — In his meeting with NATO’s North Atlantic Council today, President Isaac Herzog delivers a presentation on the two Israeli citizens and bodies of two IDF soldiers — civilians Avera Mengistu and Hisham Al-Sayed, and soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin — held by Hamas in Gaza.

The presentation includes pictures of all four men, and the number of days they are being held. Herzog tells the story of each Israeli, including showing the footage of Ethiopian-Israeli civilian Avera Mengistu that Hamas released earlier this month.

He also explains how IDF officer Hadar Goldin was attacked and kidnapped after an internationally sanctioned ceasefire during Operation Protective Edge in 2014.

“I brought the captives and missing up in every meeting,” says Herzog. “It attracted great interest.”

“I tied Hamas and Iran in the story as well,” says Herzog.