Leaders of 18 countries whose nationals were taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, Thursday called on the Palestinian resistance group to immediately release all hostages and accept the ceasefire agreement on the table.

In a joint statement, the leaders of the countries said, “We strongly support the ongoing mediation efforts to bring our people home. We reiterate our call on Hamas to release the hostages, and let us end this crisis so that collectively we can focus our efforts on bringing peace and stability to the region.”

“We call for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza for over 200 days. They include our own citizens,” it said.

The ceasefire agreement on the table regarding the release of hostages “would bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza, that would facilitate a surge of additional necessary humanitarian assistance to be delivered throughout Gaza, and lead to the credible end of hostilities,” it added.

Touching on forcibly displaced Gazans amid Israel’s attacks, the joint statement highlighted Gazans “would be able to return to their homes and their lands with preparations beforehand to ensure shelter and humanitarian provisions."

The countries that signed the joint statement are the US, the UK, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain and Thailand.

Hamas launched a cross-border attack on Israel last year Oct. 7 and took around 130 hostages. Israel waged a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7.

Due to Israeli attacks on the enclave, 34,151 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and some 77,000 others injured.