Campaigners call for the immediate release of hostages on Human Rights Day

In dramatic scenes, campaigners wearing yellow blindfolds and T-shirts emblazoned with “Let them go!” demonstrated in central London on Tuesday afternoon, calling for the release of the 101 hostages still held in Gaza after 430 days.

Planned to coincide with International Human Rights Day, the group, holding posters of the captives, stood outside the embassies of Turkey, Qatar and Egypt, countries which have had significant roles in recent hostage negotiations and which, in the case of Turkey and Qatar, have expressed support for Hamas.

The demonstrators, led by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum UK and Stop the Hate campaign group, attempted to hand deliver letters demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all the hostages. Only the Egyptian embassy accepted the letter.

A spokesperson for the rally said: “Outside these embassies, our activists stood in solidarity with the hostages, ensuring their suffering is not forgotten. We will not rest until every hostage is brought home.

“We call on the global community to hold nations accountable for their role in enabling or mitigating such tragedies and demand immediate, concerted action for the release of innocent lives held in captivity.”

They said that while the Egyptian embassy had demonstrated “its willingness to engage in dialogue and uphold its responsibilities as a regional mediator”, Turkey and Qatar “must be reminded of their obligations under international law to condemn terrorism and take decisive steps to end this humanitarian crisis”.

According to reports released on Monday, renewed mediated negotiations between Israel and Hamas which would lead to a ceasefire and the release of hostages, had advanced to the stage where both sides were discussing lists of who would be released.

Mandy Damari, the mother of the only British hostage still in Gaza, has called on Britain to push for her daughter, Emily, 28, to be included on the list, along with several others who have links to this country.

Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar said: "We can be more optimistic than before, but we are not there yet. I hope we will be there.”

He added: "There will not be a ceasefire in Gaza without a hostage deal.”

On October 7 2023, hundreds of Hamas terrorists broke through the border fence between Gaza and southern Israel and massacred more than 1,200 people, taking over 250 hostages into Gaza. Of these, 101 remain.

Human Rights Day is observed annually and commemorates the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).