Meeting Netanyahu, Serbia’s president highlights Hamas hostage with Serbian citizenship

Meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić says he would like to see the hostages in Gaza freed “as soon as possible.”

A Serbian citizen, Alon Ohel, is still held by Hamas in Gaza.

Netanyahu holds a photo of Ohel during their public comments.

“I hope that he is alive, and I hope that he is going to be freed as soon as possible,” says the Serbian leader.

“We hope that if there is any chance to get these people back to their parents, to their kids, to their sisters, to their brothers, to their families, then that would be very important for us,” he says.

“Serbia has always been, I believe, a great friend of the Jewish people,” says Vučić.

Serbia is an important, if quiet, security partner for Israel. President Isaac Herzog visited Belgrade earlier this month, a couple of weeks after CIA director Bill Burns was in the country.

“The relations between Serbia and Israel are exceedingly good,” says Netanyahu, “and are getting better each day.”

“We both have a goal,” continues the premier, “and the goal is to return all of our hostages safely back to Israel.”

“All civilized countries have to stand together and to end this monstrosity.”