Bahrain ‘unequivocally’ condemns Hamas massacre, demands hostage release

‘I don’t think any Arab leader has called on Hamas to release the hostages,’ Al Khalifa said. ‘So it is a time for straight talking.’

By World Israel News

During a keynote address on Friday, Bahrain’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa “unequivocally” condemned Hamas for the October 7th massacre and the taking of hostages, becoming the first Arab leader to make such a statement.

Addressing the International Institute for Strategic Studies’s annual Manama Dialogue security summit, attended by diplomatic and security officials from the Middle East, US, and Europe, the Bahrain leader said he stands “on the side of civilians and innocents, and not on the side of political posturing. The attacks on October 7 were barbaric, they were horrific. They were indiscriminate. They killed women, children, the elderly, it did not matter.”

“I don’t think any Arab leader has called on Hamas to release the hostages,” he said. “So it is a time for straight talking.”

“They hit civilian institutions and they hit military targets,” he continued. “And on top of that, it seems it’s okay now to grab hostages and take them away and speak about it as if it’s an act of war. That is something that we condemn.”

However, the Crown Prince also had stark criticism for Israel and added, “I unequivocally condemn the air campaign that resulted in the death of over 11,000 people in Gaza, 4,700 of which are children.”

His proposed solution was similar to a rumored ceasefire deal that has been circulating.

The Bahraini leader called on Hamas to release all of the hostages that were taken from Israel.

In return, Israel would release women and children from Israeli prisons with a pause in fighting.

“This, I believe, is one component of what will achieve a break in hostilities — if you want to call it a ceasefire, you want to call it a pause, you can call it whatever you want,” Khalifa said. “The intention is a break. So people can take stock, people can bury their dead, people can finally start to grieve.”