The United Arab Emirates is “appalled” that Israeli civilians were taken hostage in the Hamas assault near the Gaza Strip, a foreign ministry statement has said.
The Arab Muslim country, which established relations with Israel in 2020, condemned the attacks and urged “all diplomatic efforts to prevent a wider regional confrontation”.
At least 100 hostages were seized in Saturday’s assault which left more than 700 Israelis dead and triggered reprisal air strikes which have killed over 430 in Gaza.
“The ministry stressed that attacks by Hamas against Israeli towns and villages near the Gaza Strip, including the firing of thousands of rockets at population centres, are a serious and grave escalation,” said the statement late on Sunday.
“The ministry is appalled by reports that Israeli civilians have been abducted as hostages from their homes.”
The statement is notably less neutral than the initial UAE reaction on Saturday, which simply “expressed great concern regarding the escalation of violence between Israelis and Palestinians”.
“The UAE expressed its condolences to the families of the victims and urges all diplomatic efforts to prevent a wider regional confrontation,” the latest statement said, warning against “nihilistic destruction”.
