Hamas says ready to deliver aid to hostages if Israel opens humanitarian corridors permanently
Hamas’ armed wing said it is ready to deliver Red Cross aid to hostages it is holding in Gaza if Israel opens humanitarian corridors permanently.
“[We] are ready to respond positively [to] any request by the Red Cross to deliver food and medicine to enemy prisoners. However, we condition our acceptance on the opening of humanitarian corridors… for the passage of food and medicine… across all areas of the Gaza Strip,” Hamas’ armed wing wrote in a statement.
The statement was published after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the ICRC for help to provide food to hostages held in Gaza (see below).
Netanyahu asks Red Cross for help after shock hostage videos
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken with the coordinator of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to see if the organization can help reach hostages held captive in Gaza.
Netanyahu’s office said he spoke with Julien Lerisson and “requested his involvement in providing food to our hostages and… immediate medical treatment.”
ICRC has previously coordinated the transfer of hostages from Hamas militants back into Israel, as well as the return of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli detention.
The aid organization said in a statement it was “appalled by the harrowing videos” and reiterated its “call to be granted access to the hostages.”
Propaganda videos released by Hamas, designated as a terrorist group by the US, the EU and Israel, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, sparked widespread anger in Israel over the weekend.
The undated footage from Hamas appears to show a visibly frail Israeli hostage, Evyatar David, standing in an apparent tunnel. In one section, he is shown digging a hole, which, he says, is for his own grave.
The footage came after the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, which is also holding Israeli hostages, released its own video appearing to show a visibly frail Rom Braslavski, who was also taken captive over the course of October 7, 2023, terror attacks.
Source : https://www.dw.com/en/middle-east-israeli-minister-demands-gaza-reoccupation/live-73509441
