11/10/2023 – 11:35
The Israeli Armed Forces do not detail how many Brazilians are held hostage. First group of 211 repatriates arrives in Brazil. The Israeli Ministry of Defense stated this Wednesday (11/10) that there are Brazilians among the hostages that the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas took during its unprecedented attack on Israel.
The announcement was made in a video published by Israeli Armed Forces spokesman Jonathan Conricus. According to him, many hostages have dual nationality.
The group of hostages also includes Americans, British, French, Germans, Italians, Argentines and Ukrainians, said Conricus. Israel estimates that between 100 and 150 people are held hostage by terrorists.
Among the missing is Brazilian Karla Stelzer Mendes, who was at the music festival attacked by Hamas. It is unclear whether it is in the possession of the terrorist group.
Two other Brazilians who also participated in the festival and were missing, Bruna Valeanu and Ranani Glazer, were found dead.
Repatriated Brazilians
In the early hours of this Wednesday, the first Brazilian Air Force (FAB) plane arrived in Brazil with a group of 211 Brazilian citizens repatriated from Israel.
This was the first of five flights that the Brazilian government has planned until Sunday as part of the repatriation operation launched due to the sudden escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas.
The KC-30 aircraft with the first group of Brazilians landed in the early hours of Wednesday at the Brasília air base, after a 14-hour direct flight from Tel Aviv.
According to data from Itamaraty, there are 14 thousand Brazilians living in Israel and around 6 thousand in Palestine, including 50 in the Gaza Strip.
A second aircraft, also with capacity for more than 200 people, is scheduled to leave Israel for Brazil this Wednesday.
“We will bring all Brazilians” who request it, said Defense Minister José Múcio Monteiro, speaking at Brasília airport.
Since the so-called Operation Return in Peace was announced, more than 2,300 Brazilians have requested repatriation, most of them tourists staying in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, according to official data.
The Brazilian government assured that it maintains contact with representatives of the 50 Brazilians living in the Gaza Strip and assured that it wants to remove them from there with the help of Brazilian diplomatic personnel in Egypt.
as (Lusa, OTS)
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