Israeli president calls on UAE leader to help free captives in Gaza

Israeli President Isaac Herzog met his UAE counterpart on the sidelines of the Cop28 climate talks in Dubai on Thursday.

During his meeting with Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Herzog stressed "the necessity to act in any way possible to free the Israeli hostages held captive by the murderous terrorist organisation Hamas," a statement from his office said.

He called on Mohammed bin Zayed "to employ his full political weight to promote and speed up the return home of the hostages".

"In my meetings with world leaders, I intend to raise the firm demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza," Herzog said.

As part of Israel's ongoing efforts to see the release and return home of the hostages, I held an important meeting with the President of the United Arab Emirates, HH Sheikh @MohamedBinZayed. I thank him for the warm welcome here in Dubai as part of the UN Climate Conference.… pic.twitter.com/lNWit1Nt19
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) November 30, 2023

"In addition, I will detail and emphasise efforts to provide more and more humanitarian aid to the civilians of Gaza."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was due to speak at Cop28, but his office said he was no longer attending and would be replaced by his foreign minister.

The UAE normalised relations with Israel in 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords brokered by former US President Donald Trump's administration.

The Emirates have dispatched a 150-bed field hospital to Gaza and pledged to take in 1,000 Palestinian children and an equal number of Palestinian cancer patients for treatment.