• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

President Herzog meets Latvian President Rinkēvičs in Riga

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

"In order to get to the day after, in order to finish the tragedy in Gaza, the terrible tragedy in Gaza, which was imposed only by Hamas, one has to get the hostages back home."

Type: Press Releases
Topic: Foreign Policy, Terrorism
Secondary topic: Swords of Iron
Publish Date: 06.08.2025

(Communicated by the President's Spokesperson)

President Isaac Herzog was welcomed today (Tuesday, 5 August 2025) in Riga by Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs, as part of his ongoing diplomatic visit to the Baltic states.

Following their bilateral meeting, the two leaders delivered press statements.

Focusing on the urgent need to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas, President Herzog said: "Regarding the issue of the day after and the exit from the war, and, of course, the issue of Palestinian recognition - all my life, I've advocated that we should try and find a peaceful solution and pathway towards peace with our Palestinian neighbors. I truly believe in the inclusion of Israel in the region and signing more and more peace agreements with our neighbors. But the truth of the matter is, in order to realize peace between two nations, you have to have a real capability of delivering something which is viable."

He explained, "Right now, the Palestinian people are torn between two entities. One is controlled by the Palestinian Authority, and one is by Hamas. And if you ask an Israeli, an average Israeli, whether they believe it's feasible to get to a two-state solution, a solution with a peaceful neighbor like I crossed the border today from Lithuania to Latvia easily - the answer will be no. Because following October 7, it was a wake-up call for many Israelis. This was a peaceful border which was shattered by a brutal terrorist organization which abducted, killed, burned and raped our people, innocent civilians. and took hostages. So how do I get to the next day, the day after?"

He continued, "In order to get to the day after, in order to finish the tragedy in Gaza, the terrible tragedy in Gaza, which was imposed only by Hamas, one has to get the hostages back home. Because we are dealing with a jihadist terror regime in Gaza, which we are trying to remove in order to release our hostages and make sure that our citizens on the border live in peace, we have to get the hostages back."

The President displayed images of hostages recently published by Hamas, "This is Evyatar David. He was taken hostage on the first day, and this is how he looks now. You see the fat arm of his captor, and you see him. He's in a life-threatening situation. And Rom Braslavski, who was also videoed by Hamas two, three days ago, is in a horrendous situation. And all the other hostages have been starved purposely by Hamas. They've been starved purposely, while their captors are eating and having wonderful meals."

The President noted his conversation by phone yesterday with the president of the ICRC. "I called specifically the President of the International Red Cross yesterday, begging her to see what they can do in order to deliver food and deliver medicine to our hostages."

He reiterated, "If you get the hostages out, you will have the ability to move to a ceasefire, which will enable improvement of the situation in Gaza." He continued, "Nonetheless, Israel has dramatically improved, in the last 10 days, the humanitarian situation in Gaza, with at least 23,000 tons of aid delivered, and in just the last 24 hours, another 30 tons of aid. Plus about 120 airdrops in the last 24 hours by countries from all over the world. There's been a major overhaul of the supply of water and electricity, and this while our hostages are starved and in a very, very dire situation."

The President issued a call to the international community not to engage with Hamas until the hostages are released. "I call upon the international community from here in Riga, for a change how about presenting a unanimous, tough position, including Europe, and saying to Hamas and its allies: we're not talking to you until you release the hostages."