Machado speaks with Netanyahu, praises Israel and hostage release

Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado spoke by phone on Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a call Netanyahu’s office said included praise for Israel’s conduct in its war with Hamas and for an agreement to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza. Machado, who won the Nobel earlier this month for her work opposing Venezuela’s authoritarian government, posted separately on social media that achieving peace requires courage and moral clarity to confront totalitarian forces, without explicitly mentioning Israel or the Gaza conflict.

Netanyahu’s office said Machado told the prime minister she greatly appreciated his decisions and resolute actions during the war and commended measures leading to the hostage release. The office also reported that Machado criticized Iran for supporting groups hostile to Israel and for backing the Maduro government in Venezuela. Netanyahu, according to his office, congratulated Machado on receiving the Nobel Prize and praised her efforts for democracy and peace.

Machado’s own social media statement framed her remarks more broadly. She wrote that Venezuelans understand peace requires "immense courage, strength,...