German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on Tuesday for the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas, including German citizens, and expressed hope for the peace process in a video message shared online on the morning of Oct. 7, marking two years since the Hamas attack on Israel. He referred to the attack as a “black day” in the history books of the Jewish people.
Merz said Germany was experiencing a new wave of antisemitism since Oct. 7, 2023. “It fills me with shame,” he said, “as Chancellor, as a German, as part of the post-war generation that grew up with the promise: ‘Never again.’”
The Chancellor appealed to people in Germany to reach out to Jewish communities and assure them that “we will do everything together to ensure that Jewish people can live here in Germany without fear, and that they can live with confidence.”
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called the Oct. 7 attack “the worst mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust”, in a video address posted on Tuesday morning.
“There is no place for antisemitism in Sweden,” he said. “Jews in Sweden should be able to proudly wear the Star of David, visit the synagogue, and send their children to Jewish schools.”
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter wrote on X: “It is high time to end the violence. Hamas must release all hostages. The despair and immense pain must come to an end. Peace is the only path forward."
Thousands of people streamed to sites across southern Israel where relatives and friends were killed in the Oct. 7 attack two years ago, gathering at mobile bomb shelters and intersections now full of memorials and photos.
At the site of the Nova music festival, where almost 400 people were killed and dozens kidnapped, mourners wandered through hundreds of photos arranged in a semi-circle around the spot where the DJ was located, embracing and sharing memories.
At the site on Tuesday, explosions from Gaza echoed across the fields. Militants launched two rockets from northern Gaza over the course of the morning, though no damages or injuries were reported.
The United Nations chief renewed his plea on Tuesday for the “immediate” and “unconditional” release of hostages held in Gaza.
“The horror of that dark day will be forever seared in the memories of us all,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
Guterres said he had heard first-hand the “unbearable pain” of survivors and the families of captives held in Gaza and condemned the “deplorable conditions,” urging Israel and Hamas to seize the opportunity to end hostilities as talks continued on Tuesday negotiating US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
“After two years of trauma, we must choose hope. Now,” he said.
“Let us honor the memory of all the victims by working for the only path forward: a just and lasting peace, in which Israelis, Palestinians, and all the peoples of the region live side by side in security, dignity and mutual respect.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Parliament that Australia must do everything in its power to ensure and that there are both an Israeli state and Palestinian state in a future without Hamas.
Albanese on Tuesday condemned Hamas for its attack on Israel in October 2023.
“Their attack on a music festival that promoted friends, love and infinite freedom, an event attended by so many young people, underlined a core truth -- Hamas stands in opposition to all humanity and all that we value as human beings,” Albanese said.
Earlier he condemned pro-Hamas graffiti painted around Melbourne on Tuesday as “abhorrent.” Words including “Glory to Hamas” and “Oct 7, do it again” were painted in black letters in Melbourne.
