Statement from US Secretary of Defense Austin
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, in a statement on the social media platform X, touched upon the phone conversation he had with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant. The main topic of the conversation was the situation of the six prisoners who lost their lives in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, including 23-year-old American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
Austin expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the prisoners and reaffirmed his and Gallant’s determination to reach a ceasefire agreement as soon as possible to secure the release of all prisoners.
The Israeli army announced that the bodies of six Israeli prisoners were found in a tunnel in the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. This development has further increased tensions in the region.
In addition, a platform created by the families of Israeli prisoners held in Gaza has recently made harsh criticisms of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The families accused Netanyahu of being responsible for the deaths of six Israeli prisoners, accusing him of “insisting on maintaining the occupation of the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border and undermining prisoner swap agreements.”
These events highlight the complexity of conflicts and the deepening humanitarian crises in the Middle East.
