“From the Russian side, via the foreign ministry, we received a list of citizens that have dual citizenship,” senior Hamas representative Moussa Abu Marzook was cited as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency. “We are looking for those people… It is hard but we are looking. And when we find them, we will let them go,” he said, as per news agency AFP.

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On the question of release of the hostages, the Hamas representative said, “About the peaceful citizens that were taken and that are now in Gaza, we treat them as guests. While referring to the Russian-Israelis, he added that Hamas will free them as soon as the conditions are met.

The Kremlin had reportedly admitted earlier this week it had not succeeded in freeing Russian hostages and that it did not know how many of its citizens had been taken.

The Hamas official was quoted by AFP as saying the civilians were taken as “a result of chaos”. He added, “Dozens of Western and regional officials came” to them “to demand the liberation of the detainees”. He said Hamas viewed Moscow’s request “more positively and attentively than the others, given the character of our relations with Russia”, Reuters reported.

Abu Marzook had arrived in Russia on Thursday to discuss the release of the hostages. According to the report, Russia has good relations with Hamas has launched a diplomatic effort to try to free hostages held in Gaza. The country also defended its decision to invite the Hamas delegation to Moscow, saying it was necessary to maintain contacts with all sides in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Israel, which declared a war against Hamas on October 8, 2023, said that more than half the hostages held by Hamas have foreign passports from 25 different countries. Many were believed to have had dual Israeli nationality, however some almost certainly did not.

Earlier, RIA quoted the Hamas official as saying that the Palestinian military group did not view its captives as Russian, French or American. “All those captured, for us, are Israelis, although there is an appeal to their original citizenship in the hope this will save them,” he said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Updated: 28 Oct 2023, 06:29 PM IST