Washington, a steadfast ally of Israel, called for a meeting of the Security Council in the “Arria formula” format (informal meetings with civil society representatives) to demand greater international support against “impunity” related to hostage taking. This is the first time since October 7, 2023 that the UN Security Council has met, albeit informally, to discuss exclusively the situation of hostages in Gaza. Among those invited to speak at the meeting was Shoshan Haran, who, along with part of her family, was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7 and saw her husband and sister killed in the attack on her kibbutz. Haran described the horrors she experienced during the time she was held captive, until she was released during a ceasefire. “I call on the UN Security Council to do everything in its power to prevent hostage-taking from happening again,” the survivor urged. Ayelet Samerano, mother of Yonatan Samerano, a young Israeli killed in the Hamas attack on Israel, was also present and accused a humanitarian worker from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) of taking her son's body to Gaza. “A basic desire of a mother who carried her son for nine months, who gave birth to him, who raised him (...) is to at least kiss him before saying goodbye forever. (...) Bring my son home,” she asked, emotionally. The last testimony before the Security Council came from Gili Roman, who saw her sister, Yarden, return home alive after 54 days in captivity, but stressed the psychological impact that those days of anguish caused not only the hostages, but also their families. “You, their families, and people in Israel, the United States, and around the world have a simple, three-word demand: bring the hostages home,” appealed US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield. “Bring home all the hostages from over 20 countries, who were taken (...) when Hamas murdered over 1,200 people, raped and mutilated hundreds more, including the bodies of the dead, and abducted over 240 people, including women, children and the elderly,” added the diplomat. Thomas-Greenfield assured that Washington “will not rest” until all hostages are returned to their families, stressing that hostage-taking “is a cowardly tactic designed to instill fear, manipulate governments, and advance nefarious agendas.” The US ambassador argued that the release of the hostages “will open the door” to ending the conflict in Gaza. The diplomat also argued that the situation of Hamas hostages has not received due attention from the UN Security Council and advocated that “this needs to change.” “When the hostage crisis ends, a key component of the healing process will be promoting justice and accountability for those who view human lives as mere bargaining chips. (...) We must therefore continue to mobilize international support to end impunity and hold all hostage-takers accountable,” she urged. At the meeting, Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan accused the UN of inaction and asked the Security Council for explanations as to why it had not declared Hamas a terrorist organization and imposed international sanctions on the group's leaders. According to Israel, more than 1,200 Israelis and foreign citizens were killed during the October 7, 2023 attacks led by Hamas, the Palestinian armed group and de facto authority in Gaza. As of May 15, about 132 hostages remained captive in Gaza, according to figures cited by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In response to the Hamas attack, Israel launched a large-scale military offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has already caused more than 35,000 deaths, mostly civilians, according to local authorities controlled by Hamas, and left the enclave in a serious humanitarian crisis. Read Also: US rejects UN peace mission for affecting elimination of Hamas (Portuguese version)