Hamas says open to ICRC delivering food to Israeli captives in Gaza

Hamas has said it is unfastened to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delivering assistance to Israeli captives successful Gaza aft Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said helium requested the Geneva-based planetary organisation to measurement in.

The statements from Hamas and Netanyahu came aft Palestinian groups past week released videos showing 2 emaciated Israeli captives held successful Gaza, wherever immoderate 2 cardinal Palestinians are struggling to past the Israeli-induced starvation crisis.

Netanyahu said connected Sunday helium had spoken to Julian Larson, the caput of the ICRC delegation to Israel, requesting the group’s “immediate involvement” successful providing nutrient and aesculapian attraction to captives inactive held successful Gaza.

In a station connected X, Netanyahu wrote successful Hebrew that helium told Larson that Hamas was propagating a “lie of starvation” successful the enclave, but the world was that “systematic starvation is being carried retired against our hostages”.

Later connected Sunday, the spokesperson for the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s equipped wing, said successful a connection that Israeli captives held successful Gaza “eat what our fighters and each our radical eat”.

“They volition not person immoderate peculiar privilege amid the transgression of starvation and siege,” the spokesman, known arsenic Abu Obeida, said.

But, helium added, the radical is “ready to enactment positively and respond to immoderate petition from the Red Cross to present nutrient and medicine to force prisoners”.

In bid for requests to assistance captives to beryllium accepted, “humanitarian corridors indispensable beryllium opened successful a mean and imperishable mode for the transition of food and medicine to each our radical successful each areas of the Gaza Strip”, Abu Obeida said.

Israeli attacks “of each forms indispensable cease during the receipt of packages for the prisoners”, helium added.

The ICRC said successful a connection connected Sunday that it was “appalled by the harrowing videos” of the captives held successful Gaza and reiterated its telephone to beryllium “granted entree to the hostages.”

“These videos are stark grounds of the life-threatening conditions successful which the hostages are being held,” the ICRC said successful the connection shared connected X.

“We cognize families watching these videos are horrified and heartbroken by the conditions they spot their loved ones held in,” the ICRC added.

On its website, the ICRC says that “securing entree requires the practice of each parties involved”. The ICRC besides says connected its website that it “has not been capable to sojourn immoderate Palestinian detainees held successful Israeli places of detention since 7 October 2023.”

In a abstracted connection connected Sunday, the ICRC said it was besides “appalled” that a Palestine Red Crescent Society unit member had been killed successful a “clearly marked Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) building” successful Khan Younis, successful confederate Gaza.

The PRCS had earlier said the onslaught was perpetrated by Israeli forces, but the ICRC connection did not notation to who was responsible.

One cardinal women and girls starving

Meanwhile, the families of Israeli captives held successful Gaza said connected Sunday that Netanyahu’s continued insistence that a “military resolution” was the lone solution was “a nonstop information to the lives of our sons, who unrecorded successful the hellhole of tunnels and are threatened by starvation and contiguous death”.

“For 22 months, the nationalist has been sold the illusion that subject unit volition bring backmost the hostages, and today, adjacent earlier reaching a broad draught agreement, it is said that an statement is futile,” the families said successful a statement.

There are astir 50 captives inactive successful Gaza. Fewer than fractional are believed to beryllium inactive alive.

The latest developments travel arsenic the Government Media Office successful Gaza said that Israeli authorities allowed conscionable 36 assistance trucks to participate the Gaza Strip connected Saturday, portion 22,000 assistance trucks proceed to beryllium extracurricular the Strip waiting to bring much-needed nutrient to Palestinians there.

The United Nations bureau successful Geneva connected Sunday besides warned that 1 cardinal women and girls successful Gaza are present starving.

In a station connected X, the UN said: “One million. That’s however galore women and girls are starving successful Gaza. This horrific concern is unacceptable and indispensable end.

We proceed to request the transportation of lifesaving assistance for each women and girls, an contiguous ceasefire, and the merchandise of each hostages.”

At slightest 175 people, including 93 children, person present been confirmed dormant from forced starvation, according to the territory’s Ministry of Health, including 17-year-old Atef Abu Khater, whose value had dropped to conscionable 25kg (55lbs) earlier helium died connected Saturday.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies